Ophiuchus
by aphrodite931
Summary: "Silly mommy. There are only twelve Zodiac signs." "But what about Ophiuchus?" "Who?" Lucy asked dumbfounded.
1. A Bedtime Story

Ophiuchus

"Mommy?"

"Yes Sweetie?" an beautiful blonde hair woman answered as she neared the room's door.

"Could you please tell me a bedtime story tonight?" the young girl asked, chocolate eyes meeting the kind and gentle features of her mother's face.

"Oh!" her mother answered, unaccustomed to her daughter's request. Layla secretly wondered if her daughter had unconsciously realized this could be the last night they spent together but pushed the thought aside as ridiculous, after all, she had asked her mother to tell her stories when she was younger as well. She looked towards the clock, it was only 9, she only had 3 more hours left to prepare. "Are you sure you want me to tell you one. Kanokora-san is much better at telling stories than me. Besides, it's getting late and mommy has somewhere to go."

"It would be a great pleasure to read little Miss Heartphilia a story m'am." Kanokora chimed in dutifully, bowing towards Mrs. Heartphilia and her charge, little Ms. Lucy Heartphilia.

"No, I want you to do it." The toddler answered defiantly staring at her mother intently. She harbored no ill will or disdain towards her nanny but Lucy had begun to feel a slight change in her mother's attitude that scared her. She wasn't sure if it was her fault or not but she had felt her mother's warm and sparkling eyes turn colder as if she was thinking of something else, something far more serious and pressing than anything she was doing at that moment.

Layla couldn't help but smile at the sweet little girl who laid nestled in-between satin sheets, pressed down by the ornate embroidered comforter on top. She was such a strong willed girl. She hoped she would see just how beautiful and marvelous her daughter would become when she was older, mentally cursing herself for even thinking so negatively. She would certainly come back to her sweet little girl. The elder Heartphilia made her way to her daughter's bed and as she did so, looked around the spacious room filled with soft, sumptuous rugs and furniture, only of the highest quality, and various toys and books. The vast array of luxuries calmed her soul. She was lucky to have married so well. Even if her husband was crass and preoccupied with his business, he would always take care of Lucy, this Layla knew. "Ok then. Kanokora, you may retire to your quarters now. I'll take care of Lucy tonight." Layla instructed the maid as she sat on top of Lucy's beading never taking her eyes away from her little angel.

"Yes m'am." The maid responded politely, leaving the room with a bow. Both mother and child were alone now, the faint glow of Lucy's night light casting shadows upon their faces. "Now, which story would you like to hear tonight Lucy?"

The little girl put her hand to her chin and began to ponder just what kind of fairy-tale she wanted to listen to that particular night. She shook her head from side to side as she thought of the vast assortment of stories she knew, but did not want sending her off into her dreams. With each rejected tale, Lucy shook her head vehemently causing her blond hair to squirm and wriggle on her pillow reminding her mother of little golden snakes ensnaring themselves in the soft cushion supporting her daughter's head.

'_That's it!_' she thought to herself, remembering an old story she had heard during her younger, more adventurous years.

"Lucy?" she asked, interrupting her daughter's thoughts and capturing her attention, "do you know the story of the Zodiac?"

"Mmhmm!" she nodded, pleased in the direction where the topic was now headed. "I know all of them!"

"Really? _All_ of them?" her mother asked in rather unbelieving tone.

"Yes! I do!" Lucy answered back, pouting a bit, offended that her knowledge of the zodiac was being questioned. "There's Aquarius, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Pisces, and Scorpio!" she proudly stated, believing to have vindicated herself.

"Hmmm," her mother said quizzically, raising a hand and counting off on an imaginary tally, "Let's see…. That's 2…6…9…12… You only mentioned twelve. You seem to be missing one."

"Silly mommy, there are _only_ twelve Zodiac signs."

"But what about Ophiuchus?"

"Who?" Lucy asked dumbfounded. She had never come across any such Stellar Spirit in her books before.

"Ophiuchus! Don't tell me you haven't heard about him!" her mother asked in feigned surprise.

"No, I haven't! Why isn't he in any of my Zodiac books?"

"Well Lucy, he was lost a long time ago."

"Lost? How can a Stellar Spirit be lost?" Lucy chimed back, now dubious of her mother's tale. She might have been young but wasn't naive, or at least, that's what she thought.

"You see Lucy, all of the Stellar Spirits were at one time real people on this Earth. So they, like any other person, can get lost at times."

"But none of that makes sense. If they were all people at one time, how did they become Stellar Spirits? And even if they _were_ real people, how can they get lost once they become a Stellar Spirit? Couldn't they just use the stars or their power to find their way back?"

"Well, there isn't just one way to get lost sweetie."

"There isn't?"

"No. People can get lost in whole bunch of ways; being lost simply means that you can no longer find your way. You don't have to be trying to get to someplace in particular to no longer know where you are going." Layla tried to explain but despite her best efforts, Lucy's face still gave away traces confusion. Her mother thought for a moment, "Like your father for example."

"Huh?"

"You see he no longer knows what is important in this life. All he can think about is wealth and position. He was not always like this mind you. When I met him he was very different and now is hardly the man I once knew. He has lost himself. You might not understand what I'm telling you now but hopefully you will in time. But know this we _both_ love you, even if he doesn't always show it and even if I'm not around to tell you, it's true."

Lucy's eyes grew big as she tried to comprehend just what her mother was telling her but after a few moments, accepted that mother her mother was telling the truth when she said that in time she might just understand.

Layla just watched the little girl mull through what she had just been told with a bitter smile on her face. She regretted that she even had to tell the toddler that her father loved her. She wished with all her heart that he would find his way soon and stop hurting the one thing he truly did love the most.

"-ommy? Mommy?" Lucy solicited pulling on her mother's skirt growing more concerned after her mother didn't respond to her first call.

"Hmm?" Layla responded slightly dazed. She had let her thoughts get the better of her and forgot just where she was. She looked down into the dark brown eyes staring up at her in worry, eliciting a smile from the elder Heartphilia. "Yes dear?"

"Oh, nothing, you just stopped talking and seemed…sad."

"My sweet little angel, I'm fine, thank you for your concern. But…look at this!" Layla exclaimed staring at Lucy intently.

"What! What?" Lucy asked growing more agitated by the second. She couldn't tell what was wrong. '_Maybe it's a bug_!' she thought with horror.

"Your sheets! They are terribly disheveled and crumpled!" Her mother said playfully. "I'll just have to fix that." She said as she began to tuck Lucy back into bed with a mischievous smile. Small shrieks of laughter could be heard from Lucy's room as her mother went about tickling and tucking in the young girl. By the time she had finished, Lucy had been tucked in so tight that she could hardly wiggle, causing her to giggle and fight against the sheets in futile attempts to loosen their hold on her.

"Now, where was I? Oh, yes, Ophiuchus is lost and can't use the stars or his power to find his way."

"How did he get lost? Like daddy did, with 'wealth and position'?" Lucy's quoted her mother innocently, eliciting a smile from the older Heartphilia.

"No, sweetie, Ophiuchus is lost because of a mixture of unrequited love and self-pity but mostly the latter."

"Unrequieted what?"

Her mother smiled at her daughter's mistake, "Not unre_quieted_, unrequited, meaning the person who he loves, doesn't love him back."

"Oh, how sad."

"Yes, unrequited love is one of the saddest things there is but you must keep faith even if your love isn't returned because if you do, maybe you'll find someone else who will return your love." Lucy looked at her mother baffled. "Don't worry, you're still a little too young to know yet, but you'll understand someday."

"There sure seem to be a lot of things I'm going to understand when I'm older." causing a beautiful sound, like bells chiming, rung throughout the room.

'_Even momma's laugh is beautiful_.' Lucy thought in wonder.

"Yes, I suppose there is." Layla answered, still chuckling from her daughter's previous statement.

"Now then, do you still want to hear the rest of the tale?"

"Of course!"

"Ok then." Layla replied, mirth overtaking her features, "Ophiuchus was a great doctor and well known for his skills. But unfortunately for him, the one person whom he wanted to impress the most did not care about his fame or ability. You see, the beautiful young maiden he had set his sights on already had a lover. He was a strong yet humble warrior, and, I believe, that you have heard of both of them before."

"Eh?"

"Yes, of a matter of fact, I'm sure you have." Her mother's eyes twinkled as Lucy thought of all the people she knew. She thought to the various maids and help around the house but even Mr. Osbalt didn't seem quite old enough to be in a Stellar Spirit story. She then thought of some of her father's friends but like her previous musings, none seemed old enough to have been the lover of the warrior or the warrior himself.

"Give up?"

Lucy nodded dejectedly nodded her, conceding to her mother.

"It was… Aquarius and Scorpious." Lucy let out a slight gasp.

"B-but how?" was all Lucy was able to get out before her mother delicately put a finger to her daughter's lips.

"Lucy, if you ask me anymore questions I'm afraid we won't be able to finish the story even if we stay up the whole night!" Layla giggled.

"I'm ok with that."

"You are?"

"Yeah! That way I could spend the _entire_ night with you!"

"You silly girl." Her mother told her back, patting Lucy's head. "I'm afraid that I have something to do later tonight so I can't spend it with you." Lucy tried but couldn't hide her disappointment and Layla hated to hurt her, "We still have a lot more story left so I won't be going anywhere for a while, ok?"

"Ok!"

"So we left off with Ophiuchus's unrequited love towards Aquarius whom in turn, loved Scorpious. Then, one day, Scorpious learned that his friend, Taurus, a man known to be as strong as a bull had met his death at the hands of Orion, a great hunter of the day."

"Was Taurus really a bull?"

"No sweetie, he was just as strong as one."

"Then why did Orion kill him if he wasn't an animal?"

"Well, Orion wasn't that kind of hunter, he was a bounty hunter. He killed or captured people that were wanted."

"Did Taurus do something bad?"

"Well, he was an infamous womanizer and one night he happened to come across a rather beautiful young woman coming from a prestigious home. They spent the night together but he left her in the morning chasing after another girl. The woman, upset that Taurus had left her, told her father all that had happened, and enraged that someone had taken advantage of his daughter, he put out a price on Taurus's head.

So, when Scorpious heard that his friend had been killed, he vowed to take revenge and set off in search of Orion, leaving Aquarius by herself. When he found Orion, the pair fought for three whole days and nights until it seemed that Scorpious would be the victor. But, in Orion's last few moments, he grabbed Scorpious and propelled them both over the edge of a nearby cliff, thus crushing Scorpious under him when they hit the ground.

Because of their Scorpious's loyalty to his friend, he earned a spot as a Stellar Spirit becoming Scorpio and joined his friend Taurus whose strength and tenacity had earned him a spot among the Stellar Spirits as well. Orion, instead, was placed into the stars. You see, the hunter had committed some good deeds in his life such as hunting terrible and evil people who truly deserved their fate, but as innocents were included among his victims, he was not allowed to become a Stellar Spirit.

Now, Aquarius had been left all alone, waiting for her precious Scorpio to come back but he never did. Ophiuchus tried on several occasions to sway the maiden's heart but to no avail. She believed that Scorpious would one day return to her. However, the truth cannot be concealed forever, and eventually she heard news that her beloved had died in battle with Orion and she fell into an inconsolable sorrow. Her tears were never ending and despair unrelenting. The maiden's grief was so touching and beautiful that the God's took pity on her and placed her amongst the Stellar Spirits to join her lover. Her sorrow preserved through the pot that she carries holding the infinite amount of tears she shed on Earth and serving as a reminder to world of the pain felt after the death of a loved one.

While Aquarius received her wish of being with her lover, Ophiuchus was denied of his. He had hoped that when Scorpious had died, he had finally gotten the chance to capture Aquarius's heart but the God's unintentionally thwarted his plans. Angry, he wished for a way to free Aquarius from her position as a Stellar Spirit and return her to the life of a mortal so he could be with her. But to go against the God's like that would require a great power, one that humans do not have.

So Ophiuchus searched around the world for the secrets to conquer the God's and increase his powers. During his travels, Ophiuchus happened along into an ancient forest filled with snakes. He had heard rumors of the seeming immortality these creatures possessed and wished to know their secret. He followed them covertly for years, hoping to one day learn the truth behind their long existences. One day, his wish was granted. As one of the snakes he had followed had now grown quite old and was surely near death, he watched as it was given a strange herb that rejuvenated him completely, turning back the clock until it was young once more. Astounded over his discovery, Ophiuchus followed the snakes for several more years, now acquainted with the forest and the other creatures in it. His chance came once again as another snake had grown too old to continue and like before, a fellow serpent was sent to retrieve the herbs to prevent the elderly reptile from dying. Ophiuchus followed the snake for days until the snake and Ophiuchus reached the bottom of tall and treacherous mountain. While the snake was able to travel up the mountain with ease, Ophiuchus was stuck at the mountain's base and could only wait for the serpent's return, hoping that he could trick the creature into giving him the plant. When the snake came back down with the medicine, he was intercepted by the doctor. Ophiuchus words, which were more convoluted and tricky than the snakes own body, managed to tame the beast into giving him the plant. However, unbeknownst to him, Ophiuchus had been under the strict and watchful gaze of the Gods.

You see, the forest belonged to the Gods and nothing within the ancient land occurred without their knowledge of it. The Gods had long been aware of Ophiuchus's presence and chose to let the doctor wander among the trees, firmly believing that the snakes would kill Ophiuchus if he ever approached the reptiles. However, when they realized that their faith had been misplaced, Ophiuchus had already drawn upon the plant's power. The God's could not let him spread the results of his discovery and thus called upon Scorpio to deal with him. Scorpio you see, possessed a powerful venom in his tail derived from the same plant Ophiuchus had conned from the snake, thus making him the only one capable of killing Ophiuchus. A great battle ensued and Ophiuchus, now beyond the realm of mortals and with the assistance of his serpent friends, was able to defeat the great Scorpio. As Scorpio's beaten and bruised body lay before him, Ophiuchus could no longer hold back his resentment for the spirit and laughed as he began to beat and stomp him into the ground. Scorpio was clever and stubborn however, and refused to fail at the task given to him by the Gods. In his last few moments, Scorpio used his tail to sting Ophiuchus on his foot, injecting the strong poison into his system. Ophiuchus doubled back and fell to the ground clutching his foot, slowly becoming aware of his impending death as the pain surged up his body.

Aquarius, who had been watching the fight all along, now knowing that the fight was over, came down from the stars and rushed to her lover. Once again, she began to cry over his wounded body and tended to him as best she could.

When Ophiuchus saw this, he screamed in pain, pain that he was dying and pain from the realization that all had had done until that point had been for not. He was now certain that he could never win his love's heart and welcomed his demise. However, after his death, the God's took pity on his tortured soul and felt it proper to give him another opportunity at living, letting the Ophiuchus become a Stellar Spirit, Ophiuchus the snake charmer.

But when Ophiuchus awoke, no longer a human, no longer in death's peaceful arms, and no longer away from the memory of being spurned by his only love, he wept. He no longer wished for Aquarius but only for death to find relief from his suffering. He began to pity his situation, forced to be close to his beloved but now knowing that nothing he could do would make her love him back. He considered his becoming a Stellar Spirit a curse of all things and became enraged at the God's and the other Spirits. He merely wished for a way to disappear from the world for good and vanished without a trace in search of his quest. And despite that the God's and other Spirits searched for him profusely, no one could ever find him again."

*Sniff* "That's-" *Sniff* "…so-" *Sniff* "…sad Mommy!" Lucy let out wailing, managing to free her arms from her sheets to try to rub the continual flow of tears from her eyes.

"Oh darling, it's just a story." Her mother said, trying to soothe her grieving daughter.

"B-b-bu-but, the Stellar Spirits are real so what if that story is real?" she asked crying even harder now.

"Well, ummm…" Her mother said, clearly flustered on how to properly answer her daughter's cries, "I guess… you'll just have to become a Stellar Mage and help him find his way again!" she answered quickly, inhaling deeply to catch her breath and silently commending her ingenuity.

"Huh?" Lucy said, rubbing her now red and puffy eyes.

"Well, haven't you always wanted to be a Stellar Mage?"

"Uh huh! I love Spirits!" Lucy said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Well then, one day, when you become and big and strong, you can go and try to find Ophiuchus and help him realize that being a Stellar Spirit is not a curse but a blessing because by being one, he will have gotten the opportunity to meet you." Her mother said, now completely recovering her daughter's smile.

"Y-you mean, I could be his prince?" she asked happily.

"Y-yeah, sort of." Layla answered, a bead of sweat forming on her brow. She turned to look towards the clock on the wall only to realize the story had taken her longer to tell than she had anticipated.

"Well dear, I believe that that story was incredibly long and it is now past your bedtime." Her mother firmly stated, letting the little girl know that her mother would not let her stay up any later.

"Ok. Hey, mom?" Lucy called as her mother neared the door.

"Yes Lucy?"

"Will you tell me a story tomorrow too?" Lucy thought she saw her mother's face pale a little at the request but blamed it on her imagination.

"I hope so darling, I love you. I love you so much." Her mother said, coming back to her bed and placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Good night mom." Lucy smiled contently rolling onto her side.

Her mother shut the door with a click and began to walk down the hall, fists clenched and weight upon her heart. She didn't want to do this, but she had to.

"I'm sorry Lucy. I'm so sorry."

* * *

Lucy waited a few seconds. She needed to make sure the coast was clear. If mother was still nearby or if a maid found her, she would be scolded for not staying in bed. Once she deemed it safe, she flew out from under the covers and to her night stand, where her diary was waiting for her. She loved to write and wanted to be author when she grew up, well, an author, and a Stellar Spirit Mage. She loved the story her mother had just told her and wanted to write it down as soon as possible so that she would never forget it. One day, when she was older, she would publish this story and let everyone know of the story of Ophiuchus. With unbridled determination, Lucy began scribbling down the tale, paying no heed to the date marked on the top right hand corner of the page,

**7-6-7**

* * *

Lucy woke up with a jolt, tears streaming down her face for a reason she couldn't remember. It must have been a bad dream she reasoned to herself and tried to shake off her dejected mood. It was the beginning of the day. She couldn't be upset already!

"Alright!" she said as she scurried to bathroom to take a nice shower before she went to Fairy Tail hoping that freshening up would make herself feel even slightly better than how she was feeling now. The warm water proved to elevate her mood to an extent, but she couldn't shake the uneasiness that she had woken up with that morning. Almost considering jumping back into bed and calling today a waste, Lucy shook her head with determination to rid herself of this depressive mood and make today the best day ever!

"Ready or not, here I come!" she shouted to the bustling street, earning her a few glances and giggles that she refused to let bother her. This was going to be a good day she promised herself.


	2. The Mission

**Hey everyone! I'm glad you all liked my story so much! Now, I have a challenge for you! XD The name of village is special. If you can figure out why and be the first to write it in the response, you'll have the next chapter dedicated to you! :)**

**In addition, I'm not sure if this story will end in a definite couple pairing because I've been thinking about it for a while and haven't come up with a way to bring them together that isn't a total cliché. But maybe, I'm just saying as of right now, it doesn't look all too likely. But Natsu and Lucy fans don't be disheartened because I can definitely work in some "moments" for the couple. XD**

*****To RevesCasses,**

**Thank you for all the hard work you put in to this chapter! I will be forever grateful! I would also like to let all the fans know that this chapter would have been IMPOSSIBLE to write without her help and if you do feel so inclined to leave a comment, please thank her. I apologize that I am unable to do more than this but hopefully will love it all the same, so without further adieu, I would like to dedicate this chapter to RevesCasses! Thank you! **

Ophiuchus: Chapter 2

"Llluuucccyyyy!" came the elongated cry from the spiky, pink-haired mage, his arms flailing about in an enthusiastic wave. "Guess what?" he yelled, running up to her and shoving a rather dated slip of paper in front of her face.

"What?" Lucy managed to muffle, despite having the piece of parchment violate her personal space. She found her friend's excitement to be infectious, already enwrapping itself around her, making her forget about her bad mood.

"We're going on a mission!" he said cheekily, pulling the paper back far enough that Lucy could make out the handwriting.

"S-CLASS?" she screamed, her eyes first noticing the mission rank. Lucy quickly slapped her hands over mouth after her outburst, and scoured the room. She knew that neither Natsu nor herself were allowed to take an S-class mission yet, and that she had just inadvertently alerted the entire guild that Natsu, well, most likely Happy, had snuck up to the second floor again. To her surprise however, her pseudo-family seemed rather indifferent, some were even grinning at her reaction. She focused her attention back to Natsu who was smirking shamelessly. He was still a mere few inches from her face, wagging the paper triumphantly.

"Yeah, we got _special_ permission to do this job."

"Huh?"

"It says here that a Stellar Spirit Mage is _required_ and as you're the only Stellar Spirit Mage in Fairy Tail, we naturally got the job." Gray explained, walking up to pair. His shirt has disappeared…again.

"Gray, your shirt..." Lucy pointed out, sighing deeply at his stripping tendencies.

"Oh, shi-! How did that happen?"

"Because you're a freakin' exhibitionist!" Natsu sneered, cracking his knuckles, readying himself to brawl with the ice mage at a moments notice.

"Who are you calling an exhibitionist, hothead?" Gray growled, now missing his pants.

"You! Do you have ice for brains too? And who are you calling a hothead!"

"Oh yeah? Well at least ice doesn't melt the brain! It's no wonder you're so stupid! All of that heat of yours must have melted your poor excuse of a brain!" Gray retorted, smirking condescendingly at his rival. Natsu snarled and lunged at him, his fist already flaming. Unfortunately for the dragon-slayer, Gray saw his attack coming and easily side-stepped it, countering with a swift and powerful kick of his own, hitting Natsu square in the stomach.

Lucy just watched the fight unfold in front of her, exhaling wearily. Her mind was still reeling from the recent information she had so unwillingly learned. She couldn't believe that they were going on another S-classed mission especially when none of them, except Erza, was an S-classed mage.

"Grraaayy! Naatssuuu!" a demonic voice gritted out, as the queen of Fairy Tail herself, Titania stomped her way towards the trio, glaring at Natsu and Gray all the while. Temporarily frozen in fear, Natsu and Gray lay motionless on the floor, still clasping at the other's throat. But as the S-class mage continued to approach them, the pair's senses immediately returned to them, quickly standing up, and throwing an arm around the other in a façade of friendship that fooled no one.

"Erza!" Lucy called out, glad to see the armor clad mage. Hopefully she could explain to her the insanity of the situation. With one last parting look at the two male mages before her, she turned her attention to Lucy.

"Good morning Lucy!" she greeted the blonde, ignoring the frightened males next to her. "Has Natsu told you about the mission yet?"

"You mean this is serious? We really _are_ going on an S-class mission?" Lucy asked, mouth agape.

"Geez Luce, you're acting so surprised. I mean, we've gone on an S-class mission once before." Natsu interjected, his fear of Erza's punishing blows diminished by now.

"B-but…But that was different." She stuttered, her anxiety getting the better of her.

"How so?" he asked, confused.

Lucy stared at him for a moment; she really didn't want to admit to anyone her less than altruistic reasons for going on the crazy venture, but when she saw the reward offered a gold Stellar Spirit key as well, she couldn't resist the temptation. Now reflecting on it, Lucy couldn't help but remember just how dangerous the S-class mission had been. While they might have _technically_ completed the required task, they surely wouldn't have been able to handle the monster Deliora if Gray's childhood friend managed to revive the beast. Luckily the ice mages' teacher, Ul, defeated the creature long ago at the cost of her own life. And if it wasn't for Erza, Lucy probably would have died as well, becoming a tasty treat for the freakily oversized rat, Angelica. Lucy shuddered at the thought.

"Is-is this really happening?" Lucy asked aloud, wanting to believe that this is all just some crazy dream. She didn't know if she could make it through another one of those types of missions.

"Of course!" Natsu said, "Now come on, I'm all fired up! Let's go!", grabbing hold of Lucy's arm and dragging her towards the door with a speed and power that the Stellar Mage had little hopes of overcoming.

"W-w-wait! What kind of mission is it?" She asked frantically, pulling against his grip to no avail. Luckily for her, Natsu was unable to spirit her out of the door as an oversized hand took hold of the two mages and held them firmly in its grasp.

"Hold it right there you two!" A voiced boomed, as its arm retracted bringing them face-to-face with the old, short mage sitting at the bar. "Now, I just want to remind you both to be careful on this job. This _is_ an S-class mission for a reason. Other mages haven't come back, so cannot afford to be reckless." Makarov lectured dutifully, his gaze directed at Lucy. She couldn't suppress a shudder than ran up her spine. The master rarely interfered when it came to missions and almost never gave advice.

"H-hav-haven't come back?" Lucy gulped. But Natsu seemed less than impressed, and only scoffed when elderly mage had mentioned the potential danger this mission entailed.

"That's right." He answered, giving Natsu a hard look.

"What-what is this mission?" Lucy demanded. If she was going to be forced to go on such a dangerous task, she should at least be allowed to read the request slip.

"I already showed it to you Luce." Natsu commented offhandedly, struggling against the firm grip Makarov had placed them in, crushing the two up against each other.

"No you didn't! You shoved some God-forsaken paper into my face and then began pulling me off in some God-forsaken direction! And watch where you're squirming!" she finished, her voice rife with indignation, as Natsu unintentionally brushed up against her chest.

"Geez. Sorry Luce." Natsu replied half-heartedly, only adding to Lucy's frustration.

"Here you go Lucy." Mirajane said, standing next to Makarov dutifully, holding out a strip of paper. After capturing at least one of the mage's attentions, Makarov released the pair from his clutches, causing them to fall rather ungracefully on the floor on top of one another. While Natsu remained sprawled on the floor Lucy immediately scrambled up and anxiously grabbed the parchment from the white-haired bar keeper which read:

**PLEASE HELP!**

**Our village is in trouble! We need the help of a Stellar Spirit Mage to appease the angry Celestial Gods.**

**REWARD**

**1,000,000,000,000,000**

"EEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! This request has this kind of reward! B-but, the request can't be right! I can't even remember the last time the Celestial Gods interfered in human affairs."

The other members involved in the conversation stared her down. Even despite being high class mages on their own, they were oblivious about celestial magic.

"Well, it is a possibility that the people were just too afraid to mention the exact nature of their problem for fear that no one would take the request and help them." Erza explained.

"B-but." Lucy tried to protest. All she had hoped for this morning was to forget that awful dream but this was just too much.

"Don't worry Lucy, we'll all be there with you." Erza said, placing a comfortable hand on the stellar mage's on the shoulder. Lucy looked over to her other teammates, Gray and Natsu only to see stupid grins on both their faces. Regardless, it managed to comfort her fraying nerves, but only slightly.

"Ehem!" Makarov coughed, interrupting the group's moment, "Now, I want the four of you, _particularly_ you Natsu-"

"Why me Gramps?" Natsu whined like a child.

"Because you always screw things up!" Makarov replied, his body slowly growing large and transforming into his beast like state.

Natsu quivered at the sight, unintentionally reverting the guild master back to his original form. "Like I was saying before," he continued, almost as if nothing had happened, "I want the four of you to be extra cautious."

Lucy nodded, a hint of fear in her eyes. Gray and Erza nodded out of compliance and Natsu wore his signature grin.

"I promise to bring everyone home safely." Erza responded obediently. Makarov looked her over, as if he was trying to gauge her resolve. He finally consented and with a sigh added,

"Just please don't go around destroying things like you lot usually do. We are still on thin ice with the council and the bills…" Makarov moaned, "…the bills…"

"We will do our best Master!" Erza answered, but one glance at Natsu, who sat bowlegged on the floor, more interested in picking at his ears, told the elderly mage that the particular youth he was most concerned about did not truly pay heed to his message. Makarov couldn't help but slump over in despair and just hope that the bills for this trip did not exceed the reward.

Realizing that all the talking was over, and that everything had been said and done, Natsu jumped up and merrily exclaimed, "Alright! Let's get going!" And once again he took the Stellar Spirit Mage by the arm and dragged her out the door but this time, with Erza and Gray in tow.

"Bye bye!" Mira happily waved at them.

"Such a lively bunch!" she gleeful commented, as she began to wipe the bar down. Makarov just nodded and took a sip of his ale and for some time, both mages thought that the group would be fine. They had taken on many dangerous foes before and had returned unscathed. Little did they know that this time it would be different.

* * *

"Hey!" A feisty brunette called out, as she approached the bar.

"Cana! You're here rather late today. Did you sleep in or something?" Mira happily greeted the resident drunk, who had just walked into the guild.

"Yeah, you could say that." Cana answered, glancing around the building for a certain friend of hers.

"Are you looking for someone?" Mira asked, trying to be helpful.

"Yeah, Lucy as a matter of fact."

"Oh! I'm sorry but you just missed her. Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Lucy left for a mission about an hour ago."

"Damn." She cursed, pulling up her trusty companion, a barrel of alcohol, to her lips for a very prolonged swig, trying to drown her sudden headache.

"Why? Did you need to tell her something?"

"Well, nothing too important I hope. I just wanted to warn her."

"Warn her? What for?" Makarov questioned, taking a break from his own drink.

"Well, the other night Lucy asked me to check her future using my tarot cards, and I did. She drew the cards of Judgment, the Lovers, the Chariot, the Empress, the Knight of Swords, the Seven of Pentacles, but it was the last card that was most concerning."

"Why? What was it?" Mira asked alarmed.

"Well, it was blank. I assumed at the time, that it meant that she would soon be faced with a vast array of choices she could make with her life. Depending on which action she took, I told her a picture would eventually materialize."

"Well, that doesn't seem too bad. It just means she has the world in front of her, no?"

"Hmph, the joys of youth." Makarov added with a sigh, and took a large gulp of his ale, reminiscing the days when he was younger, and much stronger.

"I suppose that's true, but just now, an image appeared on the card." Cana answered apprehensively, looking towards the door.

"What does it say?" Makarov asked, with a sudden interest.

Cana sighed deeply and threw the ominous card on the bar. A dark atmosphere overtook the lot as they stared in horror at the bony skeleton glaring back at them. The figure's presence was so ill-omened, that it seemed to ironically take on a life of its own. The scenery surrounding the foreboding form lay engrossed in death and decay, nothing was spared. Its scythe loomed over the creature's boney head and was so threatening, that it nearly seemed to reach its cold shiny, metal blade out from the card and around their necks. Neither Mirajane nor Makarov needed an explanation on what this card meant; it was the card of Death.

"You don't think…" Mira said, turning towards the door that the foursome had so recently just departed from, a quivering hand placed against her mouth as if to suppress a shriek. Makarov just stared back at the card darkly.

"Master? What should we do?" Mira asked in a whispered tone, as if she was afraid if she said it any louder, her concerns would become real.

Makarov stared back at the skeleton, almost daring it to move. He let out a sigh and looked towards Cana.

"Cana?" he asked.

The brunette shifted slightly, her hands fidgeting. "I'm afraid that once the image appeared, the fate had been sealed."

"What? What do you mean? Can't we send someone after them?"

"When a person draws a blank card and an image appears, there is nothing an outsider can do to change it. The only one who can alter her fate now, is Lucy herself."

"No." Mira answered, tears brimming in her azure eyes.

Makarov took a prolonged sip of his drink. Letting the information sink in. He couldn't just let one of his children be sent into such a dangerous situation, but from what Cana had just told them…

"We…will do nothing."

"Master! How can you say something like that?" Mira scolded.

"I don't say it lightly!" Makarov answered, clearly upset. "They have been warned of the dangers this mission presented. There is no point running after them only to scold them further. I highly doubt that group would stop even if Lucy was told her fortune."

"You don't know that! Maybe-"

"Mira, we know how you feel but..." Cana interrupted, placing a reassuring hand of the white-haired mage's shoulder.

"Cana." Makarov spoke up, looking intensely at his now empty glass, "Does the card necessarily mean Lucy will…"

"No." Cana answered before he could finish. "Fortune telling is always ambiguous. While the card could be a direct reference to Lucy it can also refer to something or _someone_ else related to her."

Makarov sighed and pushed his cup away. "Mira, I'm going to need something a lot stronger."

Mira lingered for a moment, her eyes darting to the door, but let out a resigned sigh and turned around, gathering up various bottles of alcohol and mixing them together to create a more potent drink.

* * *

"Haa…. haa….haa…." Natsu took in deep breaths, his body protesting under the train's movement.

"You are such a disgrace. You can't even handle a simple train ride." Gray said in contempt as he stared out the window, clad only in his boxers. Both Lucy and Erza had given up at this point trying to get the ice mage to remain clothed and were more focused on Natsu's…difficulties to say the least.

"And to think, you were so eager to go." Lucy sighed, looking at the powerful Salamander being reduced to nothing but putty in front of her.

"I-ERG-thought-BLEK-we'd-HERMPH- be walking." He managed to get out between his heaves.

"Really, it would have taken us a whole two weeks to walk all the way there! You should just be happy that we were able to take the bullet train most of the way. Now, we'll arrive at Cancaro around sunset and as long as finding a ride to Suh Cuihpo doesn't prove too difficult, we should get in at approximately 11 o'clock tonight with any luck."

"Lu-BLEGCH-Luck? –ERMGSH-Wh-MERPH-who's Luc-HMURGSH-ky?" he complained between his bouts, the last syllable quietly escape his lips.

"Natsu, why don't you come here for a second?" Erza asked sweetly, much like the time they went to stop the dark guild Eisenwald. A sudden panic overtook his features and there was an expression of fear in his eyes that Lucy hardly ever saw. Natsu stayed glued to his seat, trying to sink himself further into the soft material, and hopefully, out of Erza's clutches.

"Natsu?"

Lucy pitied the dragon slayer, knowing the inevitable and watched the scene play out before her.

Erza had left her seat and moved over to Natsu, realizing he would not willingly come to her. Her figure loomed over him, betraying the scarlet haired mage's intentions. In an instant, he was rendered unconscious. The brunt of Erza's axe kick had managed to, for the first time, silence the car. Natsu's body lay slumped over on the floor for a second before Erza scooped up the boy in her arms and placed him next to Lucy, looking incredibly peaceful in his head-trauma induced sleep.

Lucy couldn't help but let a sigh escape her and truly felt sorry for her best friend. But, she had to admit, it was far better this way. Diverting her attention away from her downed comrade, she turned her head to look out the window. As she did so, she couldn't help but notice and appreciate the train car's décor. A gold trimmed ceiling hung above their heads but judging from the price they had paid for the cabin, Lucy was sure it was merely some gold-colored paint of some sort. The ceiling led into a beautiful, although generic, crown molding, with ornate patterns of angels carved into the wood. The oak walls and windowsill were admittedly of top quality, but that was the only thing. The cushions were made of a deep, dark red velvet-like material that was glaringly synthetic. The matching satin rug was not truly satin either. The train's owner had obviously tried his best to make the car as opulent as he could, bearing in mind a strict budget that is. Lucy was sure her observation regarding the cheap material used in the cabin was the only one. Growing up in the great array of wealth and entitlement that she did, she had been trained since birth to notice discrepancies between the genuine article and knock-offs like these.

A slight grimace marred her face as she recalled her childhood. It soon turned into a scowl as she the thought vaguely reminded her of her dream the previous night, although she couldn't recollect just what the dream had been about. She closed her eyes in concentration, trying to remember the dream that eluded, not even realizing the drowsiness overtaking her. Soon, she unwillingly found herself being carried off in a wave of fatigue and submitted herself to her dreams.

* * *

"Go back."

"Huh? Who is that?" Lucy asked the darkness. She couldn't remember where she was but an anxiety she had not known before gripped her.

"Go back." The voice repeated, seemingly coming from nowhere.

"Wh-who are you?"

"Go back. You will only find death if you continue."

"Continue? Continue where?" she paused, waiting for an answer, "Where are you? Who are you?" She looked around the void in desperation, trying to locate the origin of the voice. She was slowly losing her composure and completely lost it when she felt something brush against her foot. She looked straight ahead into the blackness, too mortified to look down at the offending creature but even without looking, she was soon able to determine what had been pushing up against her. The serpent coiled its way around Lucy's calves, then her hips, followed by her chest, and finally around her neck until she was staring into its cold, black eyes. The serpent began tightening its grip on, determined, Lucy swore, to constrict the life out of her. Its eyes never left her face, almost as if it was getting some sick gratification from her pain. Lucy could feel her breathing become labored and collapsed to floor, still held tightly in the serpent's power. Huddled on the floor, trying her best to fight against the snake, Lucy heard the voice call out to her again.

"Go back. Only death awaits you." This time Lucy couldn't respond to it. She felt that she couldn't take the pain any longer when the snake suddenly dematerialized, vanishing into nothing. Lucy graciously gulped fresh breaths of air, finally free of reptile. She coughed and wheezed the life back into her lungs until she felt she could stand on her feet. She looked around for the snake to see if it was still around when she noticed the light a few yards in front of her.

"Luce! Lucy!"

She knew that voice, "Natsu?" she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Lucy!" he called again.

"Nnnaaatttsssuuu!" Lucy cried back instinctively, collecting her last bits of strength to run towards the light where his voice was coming from. Her tears came down in a flood of emotion as she stopped a few feet away. He smiled brightly at her, "Natsu!" she said relieved, flinging herself onto him in a warm embrace and knocking him off of his feet. But something was wrong. He felt cold, Lucy looked at the mage only to realize he was a granite body. She hurriedly removed her arms from the statue and stared at it in horror. She heard a slight crack, and suddenly large fissures and breaks were running throughout the stone Natsu.

"No! Stop!" she cried throwing herself on top of him, trying to hold him together and reattach those parts that had fallen off to no avail. "Stop it! Just stop it!" But the structure crumbled beneath her, leaving only the tiniest grains of rock behind. "Natsu! Natsu!" she cried sorting through the remains, hoping that she would somehow find the great Salamander beneath it all.

"Lucy." Two other voices called out in unison next to her. Erza and Gray watched Lucy as they stood on opposite sides of her.

"Gray! Erza!" she cried out relieved to see her friends. Surely they could help. "Please help! Natsu…Natsu…" she said, her tears now consuming her as she refused to admit what she had just saw. She sobbed uncontrollably for minutes until she realized the weighted silence.

"Gray? Erza?" Lucy asked opening her eyes. Neither the ex-quip mage nor the ice mage were to be seen. She couldn't stop her eyes from straying towards the ground where they had previously stood only to see the same bits of rubble that Natsu had become. Lucy tried to stand up, often falling down like a new born fawn, but finally managed the simple task. Her legs, shaking uncontrollably, carried her away from the crushed granite pieces. She headed into the blackness, unaware of where she was going, but she didn't care. All the life had been drained her.

"Go back." The words echoed throughout the void as the space began to clear and evaporate.

* * *

"Lucy!"

"Huh?" she opened her eyes groggily, feeling slightly disorientated but quickly closed them again. Her eyelids felt heavy and it nearly pained her to open them.

"Are you ok?" she could hear Natsu ask.

'Natsu? He's ok?' Lucy dreamily thought to herself. 'It was all just a dream.' She sighed happily at the realization, letting unknown tension fly from her and snuggled closer to her pillow.

"Luce?"

Lucy scrunched up her nose. She didn't want to open her eyes and pull away from the warm and comfortable position she was in just yet, but he kept calling her. She couldn't quite place where he was, but she could tell he was close. Lucy clutched her pillow even tighter trying to fight off and ignore his persistent calls.

"Natsu. Get out of my room." She moaned tiredly.

"Lucy!" Natsu said, more forcefully this time, making Lucy open her eyes.

'I don't remember my apartment being this small.' Lucy thought to herself as she saw a wooden wall several feet from her. She slowly grew more and more confused as she couldn't recognize any of the furniture in the room. In fact, all there was in terms of furniture was the bench that held the two mages in front of her.

"Gray? Erza?" Lucy asked, confusion apparent in her voice, noticing the concern on their faces.

"Luce? You ok?" Lucy hesitantly forced her eyes off of her friends and followed the sound of Natsu's voice with her eyes.

"Eh. Natsu?" She let out realizing he was right next to her, and although she couldn't be sure, she thought that she noticed a slight pink hue on his cheeks. Staring into Natsu's face, Lucy's mind cleared and she slowly recalled that mornings events. This was not her room; the four of them were on an S-class mission that required her, a Stellar Spirit Mage, and most importantly, she did not bring a pillow with her. She glanced over to what she had been clutching so tightly which much to her embarrassment, had been Natsu's arm. She had, in fact, quite effectively trapped the dragon slayer's arm within her own and turned his shoulder into a relatively comfortable pillow.

"Hiiieeeeek!" she screamed pushing herself away from him on to the other side of the bench in a rather dramatic fashion. She sat staring at her shoes, both hands clutched over heart which was beating out of control. The result of pure, unbridled shock, she was sure.

"Lucy, are you ok?" Erza asked, watching the young girl.

Lucy took in several deep breaths, calming her erratic heartbeat before looking up at the concerned faces of her nakama. "Huh?" She questioned, confused at their expressions.

"You were crying in dream just now and no matter how hard we tried to wake you, you wouldn't stir." Gray explained

Her eyes widened as she brought a hand up to face feeling her damp cheeks. She hadn't realized that she had actually cried.

"If you don't want to talk about it we understand." Erza assured, smiling gently, trying to make Lucy feel slightly more comfortable as the blonde continued to keep silent.

Lucy's heart panged as she looked around the train car at her friends. They were always so kind to her and sincerely cared for her. She never knew of such love, except for her mother. A brief expression of pain crossed her face.

But before Lucy could answer, the intercom system crackled into life and a voice rang throughout the car, "Excuse me esteemed and valued passengers. We regret to inform you that the train's engine seems to have broken down for the time being and that we will not be able to complete our journey tonight and will be out of service for the next few days. Thank you for your understanding and patience. If you have any questions, you may ask our employees who will be waiting outside, at the front of each exit. Thank you and have a nice day."

"Oh! We aren't moving are we?" Lucy asked surprised. She hadn't noticed at all.

"How else do you think that flamehead managed to get a few lines out?" Gray commented.

"Hey!" Natsu scowled at Gray.

"Shut it you two!" Erza yelled, quieting them temporarily.

"So where are we Erza and how far are we from Suh Cuihpo?"

"Right now were in Danerac so Cancaro should have been the town after the next stop, but it seems like we won't be able to take the train all the way there." Erza sighed, trying to figure out the next best possible way to reach Suh Cuihpo.

"YIPEE!" Natsu screamed out in joy, not minding in the least that their mission would be delayed. "I guess that means that we're going to have to walk, right?" he eagerly asked Erza who maintained a serious expression.

"Were you dropped on your head as a baby? We can't possibly walk all the way there. Even if we are close, it would take us five days to make it there." Gray reasoned.

"What did you say you freakin' ice punk?"

"Man you must have been dropped pretty hard." Gray responded, agitated, "You don't even understand what I said. Well let me phrase it more simply for you, jackass. We can't walk all the way there. It's too far. Get it now you simple minded idiot?"

"That's it! You are so dead!" Natsu yelled, flames dancing on his fist.

"Bring it!" Gray spat, an ice spear ready in his hands.

"_Friends shouldn't fight like this._" A red-eyed demon proclaimed, looming over the two boys who became struck still with fear. Almost instantly, they pair linked their arms together under a pretense of companionship coupled with forced smiles to appease the demonic Erza.

"S-s-sorry." They stuttered in unison, shrinking back away from her.

Lucy suppressed a sigh. The two would most likely never stop fighting even when they were old and wrinkly.

"Alright. Lucy, why don't you, Natsu, and Gray look for some supplies for the rest of the trip and I'll take care of some of how we're going to get there. Most likely we'd have to rent a horse-drawn carriage to get there." Erza sighed.

"But, but, I thought we were going to walk there? We can all handle it, except that pussy Gray over there, so can't we just start walking?" Natsu whined and ignored Gray as he shot him a glare.

"I said, why don't you, Lucy and Gray go search for SUPPLIES? Or do you have something against that Natsu-kun?" Erza growled menacingly causing Natsu to gulp and nod fervently in coerced agreement.

"Nope, no problem with that. Let's go Luce!" Natsu rushed out his sentences in one breath and grabbed Lucy before running off.

Erza turned to her right, noticing Gray had yet to chase after the others and was looking at her intently. Turning to face him, she crossed her arms and stared at him, knowing he had something to say.

"What?"

"I'm worried about this. I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen." Gray said seriously.

Erza nodded. "I know. I do too. But Lucy is strong. We will make it through."

Gray let out a sigh before nodding. They weren't called the strongest team in Fairy Tail for nothing.

"Now hurry up and go after them. Make sure Natsu doesn't buy too much food. We're short on money and we don't need him spending more than we have." Erza said. Gray grinned at her and jogged off. That Natsu really did eat a lot.

"And we meet back here in two hours!" Erza called out and watched Gray wave back in acknowledgement.

Erza looked up at the bright sun, noticing the dark clouds gathering in the distance. She bit her lip. Somehow, things did not feel right. She shook her head, clearing it of all the doubts and worry. They were going to be fine.


	3. Friend or Foe

**My dear, dear readers. I apologize for not writing in so long, but I am now on summer vacation and thus, you will soon see the story be updated on a more consistent basis. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and since I actually promised, this chapter is dedicated to Luvandia, who won, my last challenge. Yes, that **_**was**_** like a few months ago, that doesn't mean I forgot though. So congrats to Luvandia! I hope enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 3

"Natsu!" The blonde mage shrieked at the pink-haired boy, his cheeks swollen with food.

"Wrah'z rong Wuce?" Natsu attempted to ask, still stuffing random foodstuffs into his mouth as he stared at her blankly. Lucy held in a silent curse, clenching her fist in a visible display of her irritation.

'_Just how dense can he be?_' She thought to herself, only to be interrupted by a sharp and cool hand on her shoulder, coupled with the feel of bare skin on her back.

"Gray!" She yelped, clutching her rapidly beating heart. Even knowing all too well of his stripping tendencies, she had not expected his sudden addition to their little group so soon and the raw sensation of his skin against her shoulder proved too much for her senses. She had yet to even find a boyfriend after all. After a few seconds, she finally managed to collect herself enough to choke out a request to her frigid _nakama_, "Gray, please put on a shirt."

"Huh? God Damn-"

"Haha! You freakin' moron. Are you just too stupid to even remember to wear clothes?" Natsu asked, having finally managed to swallow the gargantuan amount of food that he had stuffed in his mouth, earning a snarl from his comrade.

"You're one to talk, dumbass. Don't you know that there are four of us here and we all need to share the money?"

Natsu scrunched up his face in anger, "You're the dim-witted one. There are obviously five us here." He exclaimed pointing to the empty space to his left where his blue, furry companion usually is. To his surprise, his feline friend was absent. Natsu shook his head from side to side, eagerly looking for a flash of blue or white but to no avail.

"Uhhhh, Natsu?" Lucy interjected, a bead of sweat forming on her brow, "Did you just realize that Happy didn't come with us?"

"EEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Judging by Natsu's overly dramatic reaction, the celestial spirit mage guessed not.

Lucy sighed, to some degree out of her friend's lack of conscientiousness, but also out of sympathy for Happy, whose presence had not been missed until this very moment. She rummaged through her pocket to pull out a small bit of paper that was left on her desk that morning, signed with the unmistakable paw print signature of the Exceed. She couldn't help but be slightly irked when she found it. After all, if it was for Natsu, why did the cat leave it in _her_ house, on _her_ desk?

"Here." She said, handing it over to her best friend as his eyes bore into the paper. She had never known Natsu to be so eager to read anything before but then again, this wasn't just anything.

_Natsu,_

_ I am going to go on a mission with Charle. It's funny because I didn't think she wanted me to come at first, but Mirajane later told that when a girl tells you 'no', she actually means 'yes'! This means this entire time, Charle has actually wanted those fishes I've offered her! Mirajane called it, 'playing hard to get'. So I'll be going off with Charle for the next few days, and I think Wendy will be joining us too! Don't worry though; I'll be sure to keep them both safe!_

_Sincerely,_

_Happy_

"Hap- Happy." Natsu sniffled, silent tears pooling down his cheeks. His mortification for not realizing his favorite feline's absence soon became evident. Tears began to brim around his eyes, his nose dripped in a rather unattractive fashion, and his body shook with muffled sobs.

Lucy turned away from her distraught friend. She felt pitied for being so stupid yes, but a twinge of sympathy went out to a certain white feline who would be most irate by now. '_You're going to have some major explaining to do, Mira._' Lucy thought, as she imagined Charle either killing the supposed 'Demon of Fairy Tale' upon the feline's return, probably dragging Happy's mangled body in tow.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Charle! Do you want a fish?" Happy asked, trailing behind the fairer sex. She had been ignoring him for a while now. Whether it was from his own ignorance, or love's ability to make one blind, he was completely oblivious to the fact that the object of his heart's desire was intentionally maintaining the space between them.

Charle suppressed a sigh and kept up her pace. She had not been happy in the slightest when she heard that the blue Exceed would be accompanying Wendy and herself on this mission-she even considered not going. But, she wouldn't just trust Wendy's safety with anybody, especially such an unreliable oaf.

So naturally, the only thing she could do next was to desperately try to talk Wendy out of taking the mission. But Wendy refused. The young dragon slayer had assumed that Charle was merely being overprotective of her, and while Charle certainly did care for her charge's well-being, she was also concerned for her own mental health. However, seeing no other options left to her, she vowed to ignore her most vexing suitor for the entirety of the trip. Little did she know just how hard that would be.

Suddenly, a pop of blue appeared in front of her, preventing her from moving any farther. First, she tried to dodge right, but he countered, then left, but he mimicked her actions.

"Hey, Charle! I don't think you heard me the last 57 times I asked you, but I was wondering, do you want some fish?" He asked, assaulting her sensitive senses by producing a stinking amphibious creature and dragging it under her nose as if it were some delicacy.

Unable to control herself any longer, she let a long deep cry of frustration followed by a very sharp and resounding, "No! And get that thing out of my face!"

"Ok! Here you go!" Happy answered dutifully, remembering Mira's advice and proceeded to shove a large piece of mackerel into the Charle's mouth.

Instinctively, she began to gag and spit out the fish, falling to her knees and coughing up whatever pieces had not been forced down into her stomach.

"Charle! Are you ok?" Wendy asked, running up to her friend who was still sputtering out anything she could.

After a few minutes of repeated gagging, she managed to calm down for a brief second, much to her companions' relief, but their respite was short lived as her attention was soon diverted to Happy.

During the entire incident, the blue furry feline had quietly stood against the green backdrop of the forest behind them and watched the scene with extreme wonder and caution. She glared at him, an unusually large and evil aura accumulating around her small frame. Happy couldn't help but think it rivaled that of Erza or maybe even Lucy when upset.

"C-Charle?" He asked warily.

"_I'm gonna kill you_!" She spat out, leaping to her feet and flying after the blue Exceed. Her swift reaction took Happy by surprise. He was no match for her fury. In a few seconds, she had descended upon the cat and began to throttle him with no intent of letting up.

"Charle! Stop it! You might actually hurt him!" Wendy called out after the pair, trying to catch up.

* * *

"Well, if you're through being stupid, we still have to find some lodging for tonight with whatever money that you haven't wasted already." Gray taunted.

Uncharacteristically, Natsu ignored the jeering comment. He was still distressed that he had forgotten about one of his most precious _nakama_.

The trio searched for an hour, but found little luck. After the vast amount of money Natsu squandered, the group was left with a little more than 300 jewels a piece, and even with Lucy's great… attributes and talent (mainly her bust size and flirtatious acting skills), no store would accept such a low fare.

"If you can't pay then get out!" a store owner yelled, kicking the three out on their butts.

"Ugh. What are we going to do now?" Lucy sighed, "That was the last hotel in town."

"Grrrrr. You stupid flame brain! This is all your fault!" Gray stomped the ground in frustration, turning round to face Natsu.

"How is this my fault?" Natsu angrily bit back.

The arduous task of going from hotel to hotel to hotel had chased away his previous bout of depression and supplanted mild annoyance in its place. He moved closer to Gray, threatening him by encroaching upon the ice mage's personal space. Their faces were only a mere few inches apart but Gray, as he often did, refused to back down from the dragon slayer's challenge.

"WHO THE HELL SPENT ALL OF OUR MONEY ON FOOD?"

"WHAT? YOU WANNA START SOMETHING, STRIPPER FREAK?"

"I AM GONNA KILL YOU, YOU SQUINTY-EYED FLAME-FOR-BRAINS!" Gray yelled, throwing back his arm, forming an icy punch. Natsu mimicked his actions, flames dancing on his knuckles instead, but the two were interrupted by a demonic voice from behind them.

"_KNOCK IT OFF YOU TWO!_" the familiar demonic voice of the group's redheaded counterpart demanded, now towering over them.

The two morons were more than happy to oblige, losing all sense of hostility, they placed their arms around the other in a façade of camaraderie.

"That's better! Now, as proof of your friendship…do a dance!" she commanded.

"D-Do a what?" the boys asked in unison, unsure whether or not they had heard their childhood friend correctly.

"YOU HEARD ME! DO A DANCE!" She asked menacingly, summoning a few of her sharpest and most intimidating swords.

"Yes, ma'am!" the pair belted out and began to perform what Lucy thought had to be the worst dance in history. Holding each other by the shoulder, they sauntered from side to side, occasionally kicking a leg up here or twirling around there.

Lucy couldn't hold in her laughter anymore and soon the boys were doing the two-step to the sound of Lucy's giggles. If it hadn't been for the constant tug of magic slowly fading away, she would have kept up the charade much longer, but she had had her share of fun.

"Gemini, I close thy gate; return." Suddenly, Erza's figure disappeared in a poof and two little blue, alien-like creatures stood in her place.

They nodded to her and then they too, were gone. The boys stopped their fancy footwork to look over at their blonde teammate, instantly realizing they had been had.

"Ehhh? Lucy! That was a mean trick!" Natsu moaned, the first to object to Lucy's prank.

Lucy flinched at the hurt tone of Natsu's voice but didn't yield, "Mean? You thought that was mean? What about the time you and Happy snuck into my apartment and read my journal huh?"

Natsu was about to protest but Lucy was far from finished, "Or, that time you burnt my new skirt! I hadn't even gotten the chance to wear it yet! Or how about the time…" Lucy continued her tirade as the three walked back to the platform to meet Erza.

Gray made sure to stay silent the entire trip, simply hoping that Lucy didn't have some mental list of everything he had ever done to her too, or at least bring it up. But for now, it seemed as if her frustration was directed towards Natsu, much to his relief.

"…And if you thought that that was mean, think of what would have happened to you two if that was the _real_ Erza."

Her comment hit the right spot, for both boys recoiled at the thought.

"What's this about the '_real_ Erza'?" The armor-clad maiden asked curiously, surprising the trio.

She had spotted them from some distance away. She didn't mean to scare them but all three were so wrapped up in whatever conversation they had been in, they failed to hear her call out to them.

"Erza!" Lucy happily announced, perhaps the only one there who welcomed her presence. Natsu and Gray were still rather shaken from imagining the possibilities of what would have happened to them if they had encountered the real Erza during their fight to be happy to see her.

"So what's this about the '_real_ Erza'?" Erza repeated innocently.

"Oh! It's nothing. I was just showing off Gemini's newest form!" A smile spread on Lucy's face, recalling the ridiculous dance.

Erza nodded. She remembered Lucy asking her a week ago if she wouldn't mind testing out her skills. The end result had left Lucy with a perfect copy of the great Titania and Erza was pleased to know just how strong her friend had become.

"Did you guys find a hotel for the night?"

"Errr, well, not really. No place in town would accept such a low fare." Lucy answered, purposely leaving Natsu out of the equation. Erza raised a brow. She knew they were short on money, but not _that_ short.

Unfortunately, Lucy's efforts were thrown to the side when Gray added, "Yeah. After Natsu used most of our money on food, we barely had any left."

Natsu was about to defend himself when Erza shot him a piercing look. He gulped back his words and tried his best to blend into the background.

'I'm a tree. A tree,' He told himself, and closed his eyes as he began to wave his arms up and down like tree limbs in an imaginary breeze.

Erza turned her gaze away from him and let out a sigh. The mission hadn't even begun and they were already doomed.

"So, were you able to find a way to get into Suh Cuihpo?" Gray asked.

Erza shook her head from side to side. "When I went to ask the local carriage dealers about taking us there, all of the store owners threw me out saying they would never go to such a cursed place."

"C-Cursed?" Lucy asked, chills suddenly running up her spine.

Erza nodded.

"You're not still scared of ghosts are you, Luce?" Natsu whispered to Lucy, in the creepiest voice he could summon, an evil grin plastered on his face. Apparently, he had given up on becoming foliage.

Lucy yelped, her eyes nearly falling out of their sockets, causing the pink haired mage to fall to the ground laughing hysterically.

'I hate karma.' Lucy thought to herself, eyeing Natsu crossly.

"So, what does this all mean for us?" Lucy asked, turning her attention away from her juvenile best friend.

"Well, since you guys couldn't find a hotel and I couldn't find a ride, I suppose we will just have to start walking and camp out." Erza answered nonchalantly.

"Wait! What?" Natsu asked, joining the conversation for the first time. The group rolled their eyes, instantaneously knowing the reason behind their friend's sudden interruption. Did you say we're walking?"

The group nodded and couldn't help but be slight annoyed when loud yells and shrieks of joy escaped the dragon slayer's lips. "We're walking! We're walking! We're walking!" he announced merrily only to be shot dirty looks from his friends.

"Um, excuse me," A timid voice cut in.

The four mages searched for its origin, only finding it after collectively tilted their heads 45 degrees towards the ground.

"I don't mean to interrupt but I heard that you were looking for a way to get to Suh Cuihpo." A small figure finished.

Piercing golden eyes peered out at them innocently. Shaggy teal hair fell just under their neckline, framing their small heart-shaped face. Their petite stature was in direct contrast to their oversized clothes. A brown frock nearly hung from their body and dragged the ground, creating dirty, strained edges. The childlike creature held its audience in captive awe and an uncomfortable silence ensued until Erza shook herself from the joint stupor.

"Did you say that you could get us to Suh Cuihpo?"

"Mhmmm!" It nodded earnestly in a juvenile fashion.

"But how? I already spoke to the train conductor who told me due to complications the train experienced today, the train wouldn't be running for some time, and the local carriage providers seem to spooked to go anywhere near the place."

"Yes, the local townspeople think the city is cursed." Lucy crossed her arms and began to rub them, creating friction to fight off the imaginary chill that had suddenly overcome her.

"But, you needn't worry about anything, you see, I have my own transportation. My employer in Suh Cuihpo needed me to pick up a rather important package here and having done so, I am to return with it using my own vehicle."

"W-Why do th-they think it's c-c-cursed?" Lucy couldn't resist asking.

"Apparently, there is some rumor of a cart going around taking people from town off to the city, never to be seen or heard of again." The stranger finished, in a hushed, deep-sounding voice, giving their words more weight than they ought to have had, at least, as long as the story wasn't true that is. "In any case, the package that I am supposed to return back to my master is rather precious and I couldn't think of anyone better to ensure its safety than a group of mages, from Fairy Tail, no less."

"Excuse me, but, how did you know we were mages, and from Fairy Tail?" Erza asked, suspicion rising in her eyes, however, the individual played it off coolly.

"The boy over there," the person motioned to Gray, "has a rather large insignia stamped to his chest. From there it was not hard for me to spot out the stamps on the rest of you. The pink one has it on his arm, you have one on your breast place and if I'm not mistaken, there is one peeking out from under your armor on your left arm. And this young lady," the stranger continued, walking up to Lucy and holding out her hand, "has it conveniently stamped on the top her hand. And knowing that you are all members of the illustrious Fairy Tail, I then concluded that the lot of you must be mages of some kind. In addition, her celestial keys are hanging from her belt, in plain view of anyone, even someone as small as myself." The individual explained followed by a toothy grin.

Erza stared at the little figure before her. She couldn't help but admit inwardly to herself that the stranger had made them a most charitable deal, but something told her to take the offer into deep consideration. But, without a cart or wagon, the trip would surely take another five days and by the urgent tone of the flyer, five days was not an acceptable amount of time if it could be avoided. But the decision was soon made.

"We'll take it!" Natsu exclaimed, finding the individual's hand and shaking it vigorously.

"NATSU, YOU MORON!" Gray yelled, throwing a punch to the back of Natsu's head. "You can't just go around accepting rides from people! You're a Fairy Tail mage! Have you no pride!"

Lucy sighed for the umpteenth time since she had agreed to undergo the mission. Of course Gray was right, but still, the ice mage was taking this a little too far. Besides, they had few other options than to rely on this stranger's supposed good will.

"I have a lot more than you'll ever have! Especially up here!" Natsu responded indignantly, pointing to his own cranium.

"WHY YOU-I'LL KILL YOU!" Gray shouted, ready to pounce on the dragon-slayer, who was eagerly anticipating his rival's next move. The latter was intercepted by Erza, who effectively slammed both mages' skulls together. Lucy cringed at the sound.

"Knock it off you too!" She commanded, watching them clutch their heads in agony. Titania turned her attention back to the golden eyed individual before her. She let out a huff, but followed it by saying, "We thank you for your great generosity and as we have already accepted your request," she shot a poison filled glare towards Natsu, "we will not go back on our word."

"Then it's settled." The stranger jubilantly announced, "I'll show you to my chariot."

"Chari-what? What's that?" Natsu asked.

"Chare-ee-ot." Lucy answered, trying to emphasize the syllables. "It's like a cart, usually pulled by horses or some other type of beast." Lucy answered.

Of course she had never seen a chariot herself either, but she had seen a picture of one in a book somewhere.

"Never heard of it." Natsu sulked, visibly upset that he had to suffer the weird side-effects that afflicted him when using transportation.

The group's newest member led them through town until they came upon a magnificent scene of four pure white horses held in a perfect two by two formation bound by gold ropes. The ropes were attached to an ornate harness decorated in miniature suns and stars. Behind the animals trailed a large bronze and golden cart. Its bow came up to form a steep point, and like the horses' constraints, suns and stars decorated the sides as well. The chariot was rather narrow but its length far made up for it, allowing ample space for everyone and then some. The scene was so breathtaking that Lucy nearly missed the large sun mounted on the back of the cart, its rays pointed so sharply were more like daggers.

A low, approving whistle circled the air. "That's one heck of a ride you got there." Gray smirked, taking a glance in Natsu's direction. His legs were already shaking.

"So, how does fast does it go?" Gray continued to smirk.

"I haven't clocked it myself or anything, but I would say that she is perhaps the fastest non-motorized transportation out there. She's even a bit a faster than some machines that _do_ have motors." Their newest companion boasted.

"Did you hear that Natsu?" Gray asked mockingly, looking over at the increasingly mortified dragon slayer. "It's really fast." He grinned.

"How about turns? Can it handle turns when going _really_ fast?" Gray egged on.

"Mhmm." Their new friend answered proudly, like a parent talking about their child. It obviously delighted their acquaintance that someone had taken such a keen interest in the vehicle.

"What about-" Gray had begun to ask before threw an arm over their newest companion's shoulder. He immediately retracted it and in the same sudden motion, the individual flew back from Gray's touch. Gray's eyes focused on the petite figure before him, as if trying to probe into their soul if only he could. The stranger flinched under his gaze but Gray didn't really care that he was being rude.

"Gray!" a feminine voice called out right before an intense pain suddenly enwrapped his entire being.

"OWWW!" He yelled clutching his head, and turned his attention to Lucy. She was sporting a red and throbbing hand, having just tried to use the ice mage's head as a wooden board to karate chop through.

"You're saying 'OWWW'?" Look at what you did to my hand! What is your skull made out of?"

This was Natsu's queue, "Well, that's obvious. Rocks!"

"Ugh, Natsu. I think you meant to say his head is _full_ of rocks, not made out of them." Lucy explained.

"What's the difference?"

"N-Never mind." Lucy answered, knowing she didn't have the patience to explain to him the subtle differences and complexities of the English language.

She turned back around to face Gray, whose attention had once again returned to the group's newest member. "Gray, what's up with you? Why were you being so rude?" she asked, standing next to the golden-eyed person as if to protect the individual from Gray's probing gaze.

"O-Oh, well…" He stammered. "I'm sorry. I just realized that I didn't catch your name." He explained, letting out a short laugh as he raised his arm to scratch the back of his head.

Erza stared at her raven haired friend for a moment, taking in his response. She was not satisfied, but the others seemed content. The scarlet mage chose to let the matter slide, for now.

"Oh! I didn't even realize." Lucy gasped, ashamed at her carelessness. She gave a pleading look towards the teal haired person beside her.

"It's ok. It's my fault for forgetting to mention it." The stranger answered, "My name is Aoi."


	4. Murples and Splinters

**Author's note: Ok, so for the few hundred or so people who managed to read chapter 3 before I edited chapter 2 at 2:40 a.m., I will dedicate the next chapter to the first person who can tell me why chapter 2 needed to be changed. I wonder if anyone noticed. Hell, I wrote the thing and I didn't! *Lamenting* I bet that lost me some new readers T.T**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. There were a few concerns about how true I stayed to some characters, I won't say which and bias you, but if you don't think I did a good job then or now, please let me know. And please, I'm begging you, be specific, like (I'm making this up), "when Erza went up and kissed Charle on the mouth, it was completely out of her character. And yadda yadda yadda."**

**In addition, Chapter 1 and 2 have been revamped…again. Well, this is Chapter 2's first time under the knife so the section was a little scared, but Chapter 1, who is a seasoned pro at this by now, was kind enough to calm it down for me. XD Sorry, I'm just a HUGE dork, apparently one big enough to give her chapter's personalities.**

**I am also going to ask the lot of you who reader this to please comment! It really gives me more incentive to write and get the next chapter out there when I know people are enjoying it. Seriously, I have no idea whether you think I am doing a poor job or an excellent job if you don't leave one.**

**Lastly, I would like to thank my beta-reader, ****screamattheskyx3****! She has been a wonderful help and inspiration for this chapter and the last! I would also like to thank everyone else that applied for the decision and am sad that I could only chose one. However, I would once again like to thank screamattheskyx3. Thank you so much! Now on to the story! :)**

Chapter 4

The town rumbled with noise under the sun's bright rays. There was not a cloud in the sky and the general atmosphere was gay. Children ran amuck playing in the crowded streets, while here and there, street cars called out to passersby, advertising their various wares and exotic looking fruit, all with the exception of Mr. Hagimi, that is.

His shipment of murples, a purple-colored fruit resembling plums in appearance, and mangos in taste, had been ruined. He held back a curse against his idiotic son-in-law as he dragged his cart down the path leading to the town. His daughter's husband had forgotten to put the shipment in the cooling cell the night before, and now the fruit had already become soft. He guessed they would all be rotten by the end of the night.

'Just why did Ayame marry that schmuck?' he asked himself, knowing it wouldn't be the last time he would pose the question.

He stopped in his tracks just outside of town, wondering what he should do. He definitely couldn't sell them to anyone in town. Surely no one would purchase anything else from him ever again if did! He lamented over his fate and stared out at the bustling city, which was a little more than a few yards, when the faint sound of bells caught his ear.

Mr. Hagimi turned round to see a tall figure walk his way. Although the person was far away, he could make out the shape of a sugegasa, or rice hat, on their head and a large backpack strapped over their shoulder.

'A traveler,' he thought to himself, squinting his eyes to make the image clearer.

As the figure drew nearer, he could make out the modest outline of a woman's breast. 'Perfect! Women love to shop!' he grinned to himself evilly, sorting through his various sales pitches, trying to find the best one to use on the unsuspecting stranger fast approaching, the bells ringing the entire way.

"Miss, young miss!" the vendor called.

The woman slowed down her pace until she stood in front of him. She was even taller than he had first thought and a chill ran up his spine as he felt her gaze upon him from under the shadowy recess of her hat; her only visible facial feature being her pursed lips. He felt like he was being examined, as if he we were one of the murples placed in his cart. Mr. Hagimi was sure that this female would soon pick him up, turn him round and upside down, before she was satisfied. Regardless of his apprehension, he took the brief pause in conversation to study her.

She wore olive green pants that seemed to be two sizes too big for her. They were securely held in place by a brown belt with a bronze buckle. Her shirt, in contrast, was too small for her. While it did manage to cover her shoulders, it fell just above her belly button, exposing her midriff. It was dirty and stained but Mr. Hagimi could tell that it was unmistakably white at one time; the dirty fabric providing itself as a marker of just how long she had been traveling. A gold chain hung around her neck, falling down beneath her shirt. His eyes traveled back up to her concealed face, realizing two small bells tied to ribbon falling off the edge of her hat. But what caught his eye was the delicate smile that her mouth had now formed.

"Yes?" a sweet voice answered, nearly knocking the older man off his feet. It had been a long time since a woman had spoken to him so softly. After his wife had died a few years back, he had almost forgotten how lovely the sensation was.

"U-Uh..." he stammered, words escaping him. She let out a soft giggle.

"Were you hoping to sell me one of these delicious looking murples?" she asked, peering over to the cart and examining the fruit.

"Uhhh, well- no." he lied. Even if he couldn't see her face, Mr. Hagimi was smitten. He had already begun to fanaticize just what beauty lay in shadows of her sugegasa and could no longer bear to scam such a wonderful young lady.

"Oh. But why not? I simply adore murples." she said, picking one up and rolling it around in her hands.

"I-I'm sorry, but this batch has become somewhat rotten and I could not live myself if I sold such a beautiful young woman bad murples." he sighed, contemplating on what to do with so many overripe murples.

Perhaps he could sell them half-price to Mrs. Benson next door. Her flock of Warsons ate nearly anything, and he meant anything. The beasts nearly took off his own hand once. He was so caught up in his own line of thought, he failed to hear the woman's bells let out a soft ring.

"Rotten? Well, these murples seem to be at the peak of perfection." she remarked, handing him a murple from his cart.

"Wha?" he gasped in surprise, feeling the hard outer skin of the murple.

He picked another fruit out of his cart and to his surprise, it was hard as well. He did this a few more times before he was satisfied that his entire supply had suddenly found new life.

"This is impossible." he told himself, in complete disbelief.

He looked back to the murple in his hand for a second before putting the fruit up to his lips and taking a bite out of the delicious piece of produce. A sudden burst of flavor exploded onto his tongue. His eyes opened wide as his taste buds relished the flavor. It was even better than usual. In fact, he didn't think that he had _ever_ had a murple this delicious before!

"What do you think, sir?" the woman's sweet voice called out to him.

"Huh?"

"What do you think? Will you sell some to me?"

"Oh- for a moment there I thought you meant-" he stopped, throwing his hands up and waving the air in front of him, as it to slap the idea away from his thoughts.

"Of course, you may buy some. In fact, I'll give you some."

"Oh, but I couldn't possibly-"

"I insist. Besides, a moment ago, I was sure I wouldn't be able to do much with these fruits, but you seem to have brought me good luck, so here, take five, free of charge."

"Thank you." the woman replied, reaching behind her and placing five murples into her backpack. "You are most kind."

"Aww, you're welcome." Mr. Hagimi answered, now abashed.

The woman smiled and turned to face the road to town in front of her. Ignoring Mr. Hagimi, she tugged on her necklace, revealing a golden ring, encircling a small hourglass. Mr. Hagimi couldn't help but be captivated by the small charm; he had never seen anything quite like it before. The fruit vendor's interest piqued, he couldn't help but notice a slight quiver of the woman's lips as a few grains of sand slowly slipped through to other side.

"I thank you again for your generosity but I must be going now." she said, not looking back to face him and then began to walk away, the sound of her bells echoing throughout the air.

'What an odd young lady.' Mr Hagimi thought as he watched her figure fade into the distance.

He turned back to face his murples and looked over them curiously.

'For a moment there, I thought she was implying that she had brought my murples back to life. But that is impossible, even for a mage.' Mr. Hagimi thought woefully to himself.

If only it could be done, so many of this world's problems would be solved. But his negative thoughts ended there, and with a skip in his step, he followed the same path the woman before him took, leading him into town.

* * *

"C-Charle?"

"Hmm?" the white cat purred, as she soared above the young dragon-slayer.

"I-Is it really ok to leave him like this?" Wendy asked, pitying the poor blue feline dragging on the ground behind her.

"MhmmmMMMhhmmmMhm," Happy mumbled against the tape pressed up to his mouth, tears welling in his eyes.

Wendy smiled back at him apologetically; she couldn't understand a word he had just said.

She had tried to help him, she really had, but she had never seen Charle acting so scary before. By the time she had caught up to the pair, Charle had strangled Happy within an inch of his life. Wendy literally had to pull her off of him. But even then, the little white cat did not stop there.

Charle was livid.

The fish incident had been the last straw. She would solve her "Happy" problem today, right now, one way or another, and if Wendy would not let her kill him, she would do the next best thing-tie him up to a tree or a rock and leave him for dead. She was sure a hungry wolf or something or other would eventually come by. In an instant, Charle escaped from Wendy's grip and was on top of Happy again, this time with a rope and tape. She made quick work of it, successfully hogtying the blue Exceed before Wendy could protest. But Wendy _did_ manage to object when Charle had begun to tie him to a nearby tree. It was only her charge's pleas that stopped her. But she refused to untie him. If she was forced to suffer his presence, she would make sure he would suffer as well.

And that is how Happy found himself being bound and gagged, being dragged across a gravel road. Charle had tied the other end of the rope to her and pulled him along as she flew just above the tree tops.

Happy might have actually reveled a bit more in the 'connection' they were sharing, if his beloved did not take such satisfaction out of spotting out the roughest patches of dirt or other obstacles from the air and dragging him into them.

"That idiot will be fine. You shouldn't waste your time worrying about him."

"B-But Charle!" Wendy whined, as she watched Happy collide with a rather hard boulder. His face slid against the rock until the cat had been painfully pulled over it. Wendy was positive that little scrapes of blue fur had been ingrained into the stone's face.

Charle sighed, looking over at a rather distressed Wendy, "If you want, I suppose I could let him go once we reach town."

Happy mumbled something resembling a cry of relief, and Wendy looked rather content after hearing this news as well.

Charle merely rolled her eyes and flew onward.

* * *

"WOOHOOHOO!" the cry echoed through the forest, followed by the vociferous rattle of an expedient chariot. Nearby animals ran for their lives as the beast-like contraption carried the five people to the destination.

"ISN'T THIS GREAT!" Aoi yelled over the noise, radiating an aura of pure joy radiating.

The moment the group had gotten onto the chariot, the seemingly timid creature they knew as Aoi had become a rambunctious and merry character.*

It was as if the cart was Aoi's natural element. The teal-haired driver only gave them a few seconds to place their items in the cart and get settled before taking off with tremendous speed.

For the first time in their lives, Lucy, Gray, and Erza understood all too well how Natsu felt.

Lucy held her hands over her eyes. She couldn't bear to watch Aoi drive, literally. The flashes and blurs of green and brown were so intense it made her stomach tremble. Gray couldn't stand the clatter and vibrations emitted from the chariot. He was positive that any second now, the wooden floorboards would give out from under them and fly away under the speed from the cart. He gripped the wooden sideboards for dear life, despite being positive that they too, would come off. He regretted with all his might egging Aoi on earlier that day in order to taunt Natsu.

'Karma's a bitch.' He thought sourly to himself.

Erza was plastered to the chariot's back wall. The great force at which the air hit made it impossible for her to move. The armor-clad mage knew that she too, drove rather fast and reckless, but this was just too much!

Natsu lay paralyzed on the floor, his usual symptoms preoccupying him from the terror his friend's were experiencing. It honestly didn't matter to the dragon slayer whether they were going five miles per hour or 500. Transportation was transportation regardless of the speed.

"Aoi! Slow down!" Lucy screamed, unable to bear the speed a second longer.

"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! THE WIND; IT'S TOO LOUD!"

"I said, '**SLOW DOWN**!' **STOP THE CHARIOT**!" the cart immediately sputtered to a halt, throwing the four Fairy Tail occupants forward.

Lucy groaned, pulling herself up from the floor. She looked around her to see if her friends were alright. Erza was on her knees, rubbing her head. Gray had landed on the other end of the chariot, pieces of broken wood clutched tightly in his hands.

'Aoi will not be happy when she sees that.' Lucy thought to herself, remembering just how much their friend took pride in the chariot.

Her thoughts suddenly turned to their new friend, spotting the familiar outline still at the helm. Aoi clutched the reigns tightly, an uncontrollable shake coursing through the petite child.

"Aoi, are you ok?" Lucy asked, wobbling over to the driver. She reached out her hand to touch the trembling figure in front of her, but Aoi flinched, sensing the attempt at physical contact.

"I'm-I'm fine." Aoi replied.

"I'm sorry about going so fast earlier." A look of fright and some other emotion, perhaps anger, reflected in the individual's amber-colored eyes. Lucy shook off her last observation, chalking it up to the affects of traumatizing head injury.

"…If you don't mind, I think we'll camp here tonight. Besides, I need to do something." Aoi finished, jumping off the chariot and walking away into the forest, not bothering to wait to hear Lucy's answer.

"Ummm, alright," Lucy called out after the petite figure, unsure of what had just happened.

"Umrgh…"

"Natsu?" Lucy asked, recognizing the sickly sound and realizing for the first time that she had not seen him when she got up. "Where are you?"

"Ermph—h-here," Natsu responded, lifting a hand and waving to her before returning it to cover his mouth.

Lucy couldn't help but be slightly amused and sorry for her friend.

Figures, that Natsu would wind up being thrown from the carriage on to the only other thing in the forest that could be considered a form of transportation, the white horses. Natsu lay strewn across the animal's back, holding on to its neck to steady himself.

The horse snorted. It was just as upset to find the dragon slayer on its back as Natsu was upset to be stuck on the creature's back. But it was when the horse realized that Natsu was feeling sick that it truly became incensed. It kicked up its rear legs and began to buck, trying to shake the unwelcomed rider off. It did not take long for the horse to succeed and Natsu was sent flying through the air, landing at Lucy's feet. Lucy smiled at him, a wave of sympathy overwhelming her as it usually did when she saw him this way. She reached out her hand to the crumpled dragon slayer before her. He looked up and took it, a goofy grin of his face.

"Thanks, Luce!"

"No problem."

"Where did Aoi go?" Erza asked, walking up to the two, Gray in tow. He had apparently thrown aside the pieces of wood he was clutching with such intensity before and stood before them bare-chested.

"Aoi went off in that direction there." Lucy told the scarlet beauty, pointing to some trees in the distance. "She asked if we could camp out here for tonight."

"_She_?" Natsu asked, looking at Lucy as if she had just said something incredibly stupid.

"Yes, _she_. What's with that look?" Lucy responded indignantly.

"Luce, Aoi is a _guy_."

"What? Aoi is a girl. I mean, it's obvious!"

"Yeah, flames-for-brains. Aoi is a chick." Gray added, sidling himself next to Lucy.

"No way, moron! I'm telling you guys, Aoi is a boy."

"I have to agree with Natsu on this." Erza spoke up.

"H-How can you people think that? I mean, no boy would have such pretty eyes!" Lucy defended, but had done a poor job judging by the looks she was receiving from her comrades. Even Gray, her ally, wouldn't stand up for her when she shot him a pleading glance.

"_Eyes_? Eyes! Is that why you think Aoi is a girl?" Natsu asked incredulously. Lucy couldn't help but blush slightly, partly from embarrassment and partly from Natsu's prolonged gaze.

"W-What? Is that so wrong? And would you STOP looking at me like that?" Lucy yelled.

"Geez, Luce. You don't have to get so angry. You're the one being weird after all." Natsu said, unintentionally fanning the flames.

"Naaa-tssuuu," Lucy said, her anger clearly present in each drawn out syllable.

"Alright. That's enough, you two." Erza interrupted, before any physical violence could break out.

"We can have this conversation later. Right now, we should be setting up for camp. Lucy, Natsu, you two go and get some firewood. Gray and I will take care of everything else."

"Roger!" Natsu answered, pulling up his arm into a salute while Lucy let out a sigh at his antics and began to drag him towards the dense brush.

Soon the pair was out of eyesight, and Erza turned to glance over at the patch of forest Lucy had said Aoi disappeared off into. She hated this foreboding feeling she was having, and with a glare in her eye, she turned around to face the ice mage who was taking their luggage out from the chariot.

"Gray," she said, making her way over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, warning him that he would not escape her clutches. He cringed at her touch, knowing what she wanted to talk about.

"Just what happened earlier, with you and Aoi?" she asked menacingly. Gray gulped, wishing more than anything he was with Natsu and Lucy. Yes, he would even prefer Natsu's company over Erza at this moment.

* * *

"Geez, I sure hope Aoi is alright. This forest is pretty spooky." Lucy commented to no one in particular while clutching a bundle of firewood.

Although there had still been plenty of sunlight when the pair went into the brush, it felt as if night had already fallen in the dense forest. The canopy above was so thick that hardly any light pierced through the branches above. Lucy felt herself drift towards Natsu, a shiver running up her spine. Although Lucy wouldn't necessarily classify herself as an "outdoor" person, she usually didn't mind walking around in the woods, but this place…was different. The stellar spirit mage glanced nervously around her, sure that a pair of hidden of eyes were watching them.

'Get a grip, Lucy; you're being paranoid. Just think of something else to distract yourself.' Lucy inwardly scolded, trying to maintain the one thing that separated her from every other member of Fairy Tail, _reason_. Lucy kept walking for some time, imagining just what kind of outfits she would buy with her share of the reward money, and would have continued to do so if not for the peculiar chill slowly creeping upon her being. She turned her attention back to the deserted forested path in front of her, stopping in her tracks, a terrible fear rising up within her.

'Keep calm. Keep calm.' she chanted the mantra to herself. She looked to her left and then to her right searching for a flash of pink or some sign of the dragon slayer but there was none.

"N-Natsu?" she asked to the empty space around her. There was no reply.

"T-This is-isn't funny! I-I swear to God if you're trying to s-scare me I'll sick Erza on you when we get back." Lucy waited but there was nothing. She held on to the bunch of sticks still in her arms even more, treating the pieces of wood as a security blanket.

'This is getting really creepy!' Lucy wailed internally, trying to maintain her grip on the situation. Her efforts went to naught however, when a cool concentrated brush of wind blew by her ear. In a flash, the twigs in her arms flew up into the air, scattering around the ground. Lucy herself managed to jump a good five feet up and away from the oppressive breeze. With one hand clutching her heart and another, her keys, she turned around to face the source of her near death experience.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Natsu laughed hysterically rolling on the ground, holding his stomach as if it would burst.

At first, Lucy merely stared at him, too shocked to be angry, but that phase was short-lived.

"NNAAATTSSSSUUUUUUUUUU!" Lucy hollered at the top of her lungs, causing the trees to reverberate the sound. A few birds scattered from the treetops above and Lucy didn't doubt that Erza and Gray had heard her shriek from all the way back at the campsite. Natsu stopped immediately realizing his folly. Lucy was truly terrifying. At this moment, he would rather face Erza a million times over than Lucy. He quaked at her approaching her figure. Her body seemed to radiate pure rage.

"L-Luce?" Natsu asked, still on the ground staring up at the now looming figure of his best friend.

Lucy stalked onwards, ignoring him. The forest backdrop disappeared behind her and was replaced by flames, so hot and frightening that even Natsu didn't find them appetizing.

"Luce, I-I'm sorry. It-It was a joke." Natsu pleaded, slowly crawling back, never taking his eyes off of the stellar spirit mage. He was afraid that the moment he did so, she would pounce on him and end his sorry existence right there.

"Luce, I-I said I was sorry. P-Please d-don't-"

In the end, it didn't really matter whether or not Natsu would take his eyes off her or not; Lucy was hell-bent on killing him regardless. Lucy jumped on the pitiable dragon slayer, laying punches and throwing kicks that he little hope of dodging or defending himself against.

'If she fought like this against our enemies, she would be the most feared mage in all of Fairy Tail.' Natsu thought bitterly, now thoroughly bruised and beaten. The dragon slayer was pretty sure that he was missing a tooth, maybe a few teeth, as well. He supposed he was just lucky that she hadn't broken any of his bones in her fury.

"Don't you EVER do that again!" Lucy reprimanded, feeling better after taking out her frustrations on the pink haired mage.

"Ei'm sowwy, Wuce." Natsu tried to apologize, but his syllables became distorted because of his swelling cheeks.

"Hmph." Lucy said, turning away, slightly remorseful for beating him so severely, "Whatever, why don't you just help me pick up this mess so we can go back to the others."

Natsu looked up at her and grinned, happy to be forgiven. Lucy rolled her eyes at his simplistic smile, and stalked off to pick up the wood that had been thrown the farthest distance away. The forest was quiet for a short period of time but the peace was soon broken.

"Oi Lucy! Look at this!"

Lucy turned to face Natsu. The pink haired dragon slayer had staked a few of the twigs into the ground and placed them against one another, forming something similar to a miniature teepee and was balancing himself off of the collective tips with only his finger. If that had not been impressive enough, he began to slowly extend and contract his finger as if he were doing push-ups. Lucy sighed.

'Does he take anything seriously? We can't even go collect firewood without him doing something like this.' Lucy reflected, but still, even she had to admit it was impressive.

"Hey, Natsu! Be careful. I think your support is about to go." Lucy yelled, eyeing the now shaky branches.

"Ahh, I'm sure it's fi-" Natsu wasn't able to finish his sentence as crashed to the ground. Lucy winced for him; his head seemed to have connected with the ground first and his feet remained up in the air.

"Natsu, are you ok?" Lucy asked worriedly, kneeling down next to her friend. Natsu looked up at her and smiled genuinely.

'Geez, what an idiot.' Lucy thought, but smiled back. "Come on, let's finish up here and get back to the others. They are probably worried about us." Lucy told him, standing up and extending an arm. Natsu took it but recoiled instantly.

"Owww!" He yelled, cupping his hand to his chest. Lucy looked at him bewildered, wondering what she had possibly done to hurt him…at that specific moment in time, that is.

"Natsu, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Lucy questioned, squatting back down. He shook his head from left to right and stuck out his finger.

"No, there's something wrong with my finger."

Lucy grabbed his hand and pulled it to her face, unintentionally dragging its owner closer to her body as well, but Lucy paid no heed to the close space they now shared. Her entire attention was focused on his calloused fingertip.

"L-Luce?" Natsu asked, trying to pull back his finger but she refused to relinquish her grip. A slight blush marred his cheeks, but it went unnoticed by the celestial spirit mage.

"Hmmm, I think you have a splinter." she told him, her eyes never leaving his finger; a wave of nostalgia washing over Lucy.

* * *

"Mmooommmmyyyyyyyy!" A much younger Lucy wailed. The toddler held up a small finger as she ran down the halls.

Finally reaching her mother's room, she barged in, crying even harder. Layla looked down at her daughter calmly. Whatever it was that had made her child so upset, it did not seem to be life-threatening.

"What is it, Lucy?" she asked, scooping the young girl up in her arms.

"M-My finger." Lucy sniffled, holding out said finger to her mother for inspection. Her mother looked at it for a moment, examining the tiny digit.

"Lucy, I think you have a splinter."

Lucy just looked at her mother, her tears quelled only slightly.

"Here, I'll get it out for you." Layla told her, pulling the finger to her mouth and sucking out the small sliver of wood that had found its way into her daughter's fingerbreadth.

"There, how does your finger feel now?" Layla asked, placing the splinter in a nearby tissue.

"It feels all better!" Lucy answered, smiling brightly back up at her mother.

"Good! Now go back outside and play." Layla told her.

"Ok, Mommy!" Lucy said, hopping off her mother's lap and running back out of the room.

* * *

Absentmindedly, Lucy tugged on Natsu's finger placing it in her mouth.

"L-Luce!" Natsu called out, his face getting red, but Lucy didn't hear him. She was caught up in her own memories. Gently, she pulled the wood chip out and spat it out onto the ground. Lucy slowly pushed back Natsu's finger examining it one last time, a sorrowful expression finding its way onto her delicate features.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked, now worried for his _nakama_. This time, his voice reached her. Her face grew red much to Natsu's concern, but she didn't move. She froze up, his finger still in her grasp as her mind tried to understand what had just happened.

"Are you ok? You're all red." He prodded, placing his free hand on her forehead and as if a switch had flipped, Lucy jumped.

"GGWWYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She yelled, flying back from the dragon slayer, the implications of her previous actions hanging over her head.

'I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST DID THAT!' she screamed internally, beating herself over the head for doing something so embarrassing.

Natsu just stared at her, ignoring the weird feeling that was bubbling up in his chest. He turned his attention to his hand. He flexed his finger, testing it for the pain he felt previously.

"Hey, Luce! You fixed it! My finger feels great now!" Natsu said holding the now pain-free digit into the air happily. Lucy looked over at him and blushed even more.

'At least Natsu doesn't seem to think too much of it.' Lucy thought, her mortification only dwindling slightly.

"T-That's good." she answered, trying to calm herself. She slowly got to her knees, feeling rather unbalanced. "I-I think we should head back now."

Natsu looked at her questioningly, confused at the change in her usual demeanor, but followed her actions when she picked up her bundle of wood.

"And be careful! You don't want to get another splinter!" Lucy yelled back, her cheeks pink at the recollection.

"Ahhh, don't worry about that! If I get another one, you can just get it out for me!" Natsu grinned walking by her now with his own bunch of twigs.

Lucy's blush spread from her cheeks, to her ears, until it covered it entire face.

"I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" Lucy snapped back, stomping off ahead of him. Natsu just looked at her retreated figure puzzled, completely oblivious as to what caused her strong reaction to his comment.

"Hey, Lucy! Wait up!" Natsu called out after her but she ignored him.

"Just what did I say wrong?" he pleaded, running after her.

* * *

"We're here!" Wendy exclaimed happily, as they reached the town's main street.

"MmmmMmMmm!" Happy mumbled something incomprehensible under the tape.

Wendy could only guess that he had expressed similar sentiments of his own. Charle merely landed in front of them, retracting her wings and walked over to Happy. With a simple flex of her claw, the blue Exceed was free from his restraints. Happy immediately flew up into the air with delight. He had always taken his wings for granted, but no longer. Well, at least not for the next few minutes.

"FREEDOM!"

"Tch," Charle responded, leading the group's way into town.

* * *

*I swear to God that I am not trying to copy Hiro Mashima and make an Edo Natsu copy, but I have seriously thought this character out and this is the only way he/she makes sense in accordance to certain other obligations he/she must fulfill. So please bear with me, I'm sorry. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and in case the message above didn't make it through to my readers who are actually reading this tid-bit, PLEASE COMMENT! Even if you hated it, I want to know, and if possible, could you tell me why you disliked it?

I COMMAND YOU ALL TO COMMENT! XD


	5. The Woman Revealed

**Author's Note: I really hope everyone enjoys this chapter! :) I would also like to thank everyone who commented on my last update: ShiningStellar, grandine123, Skyelara, Ree-Vance, Footster26, HaylieandKaytie, The Midnight Shadow Star, vampire-fetish15, Mikado's Ink, Ice of the Kitsune's Fire. Thank you again to my beta reader as well, screamattheskyx3! XD**

**And just so you guys know why I love reviews so much is because it helps me know what you, the readers, enjoy. Also, when I first posted this story, I got quite a lot of reviews and since they have been dying down lately, I can't help but think that people aren't enjoying the story as much. So yeah, that's why I beg for reviews the way I do.**

**Lastly, I suppose no one managed to read the disparity between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 that one time so I'll tell you what it is. I actually had written Happy into the story at that point and he was Natsu and co while on the mission, but I gave him so little dialogue that I forgot he was in there at all. So yeah, the fact that Happy managed to be in two places at once made is what the issue was all about. :)**

**As for this chapter, I'll dedicate the next chapter to whoever can answer the question at the bottom of this page correctly.**

Chapter 5

"Aoi! You're back!" Lucy happily called out from across the roadway. She and Natsu had just emerged from the woods, carrying bundles of logs and twigs in their arms. Lucy had immediately spotted out their caravan, noticing the teal-haired youngster's presence. She didn't quite know just when she became so attached to Aoi's company, but now she felt as if the child-like creature was one of her best friends. They shared a bond that Lucy did not yet know how to describe or explain.

"I was actually getting kinda worried about you while I was in there. It was pretty dark and spooky. I doubt we would have made it out without Natsu's sense of smell."

"Yes, well, I've grown accustomed to these trees by now. I know them like the back of my hand." Aoi said, gesturing to the small hand that was now in front of Lucy's face for emphasis.

"Well, that's good." Lucy answered, placing some of wood from her bundle into the fire pit Erza and Gray had created; she set the remaining twigs aside, close enough to make them easily accessible, but far away enough that the chances of a rogue spark hitting the bunch and starting an unwanted secondary fire was low. The stellar spirit mage looked towards the receding sun, its rays only just peeking out from behind the mountains. She had actually thought that it had been much later than it was due to the dense and dark brush that previously surrounded her. However, although she and Natsu had managed to make it back before the sun had set, she knew that nightfall wasn't too far away.

"Hey, Natsu, how about you start a fire before it gets too dark?" Lucy suggested.

"Yeah, just try not to burn down the whole forest while you're at it, Flame Brain." Gray chimed in, never missing an opportunity to heckle the dragon slayer and the same was true the other way around as well.

"Shut up, Droopy Eyes!" Natsu retorted, pulling his fist up to his mouth, opening it slightly to allow his flames to fly through it. The fire burst to life, crackling and dancing on top of the dried out bits of wood. Natsu smiled exuberantly at his job well done, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Gray rolled his eyes, his gaze now falling upon Erza. The scarlet-haired beauty in turn, focused her energy on Aoi, who was cozying up to Lucy at the moment. The two seemed to get along rather well, casting her doubts into question. Lucy was a rather good judge of character after all, but the conversation she had with Gray earlier raced through her mind.

* * *

"Just what happened earlier, with you and Aoi?" Erza asked the ice mage menacingly.

"Wha-What do you mean?" he asked, feigning innocence. Erza narrowed her eyes and her grip on him intensified tenfold; he was positive that if she did not ease up, his bones would fracture, if not break.

"Don't give me that. This is an S-class mission and other mages have yet to come back and we don't really know what we are up against, so if you noticed or felt anything out of the ordinary, I need to know."

'Crap. She's right.' Gray chided himself. They had all been through so much together, it was easy to forget about the potential danger they all faced.

"Alright. I really didn't want to say anything about it because I don't quite know what it was myself, but when I touched Aoi, she felt weird."

"Weird?" Erza questioned, her brow arching.

"Yeah. See, I told you; I don't know how to explain it, but it almost seems as if she has been hurt before, like she has scars all over her body or is disfigured or something. It felt as if she had been terribly burnt in the past. Even through her cloak, I could feel the jagged and rough edges of scabs or something." Gray looked at his hand as he spoke, reliving the experience over again.

Erza loosened her hold on him, and looked down at her shoes, trying to process the information. Just what did all of this mean? Perhaps Aoi was just a kindly soul who had suffered their own fair share of abuse in this cruel world. Maybe the child like creature simply wanted to help them and nothing more. Hundreds of scenarios ran through her head as she attempted to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but to no avail. She had yet to collect all of the missing puzzle pieces. But from what Gray had told her, she could find no logical reason to support her misgivings.

"There's one more thing."

Erza looked up at Gray, her thoughts now pushed to the side.

Gray shifted under her glance. "Well, I think that she is hiding something. I just don't know what though. Maybe it _is_ just that she has scars or something but…" Gray let his sentence trail off, not quite sure what he was thinking. After all, Aoi was helping them, or at least, that's how it seemed.

A silence overtook them, each turning over the implications of what had just been said, or left unsaid, in their minds.

"But," Gray continued after his lengthy pause, "I think there is something deeper going on here." He brooded.

Erza gave a slight nod in agreement.

"For now, let's keep this from Lucy and Natsu. We aren't quite sure ourselves as to what the truth is, and I doubt those two will take our doubts seriously. In fact, they'll probably do all they could to dissuade us. And they would probably do that by placing themselves in a potentially dangerous situation. Let's just keep a close eye on the situation." Erza reasoned, the serious tone of her voice giving her words a greater weight.

Gray nodded and looked towards the trees that Lucy and Natsu had gone off into. Reluctantly, he tore his gaze away from the forest and went back to setting up the campsite. It didn't take the mages long to finish what they had started and soon they were sitting around an empty fire pit, just waiting for Natsu and Lucy to return. And both were getting impatient, until the bushes across the road began to rustle unnaturally.

"Finally," Gray muttered. He was sick of waiting around, unable to do anything useful except contemplate possible conspiracies, mostly involving Aoi. Erza merely lifted her head, casting a sharp gaze on the unfortunate brambles.

"Hey, guys!" Aoi greeted cheerfully, stepping out from the brush. A few leaves caught in their aquamarine hair.

"Welcome back." Erza greeted, trying to hide the bitterness in her tone.

Aoi smiled in response and nodded. Their newest teammate looked around the camp, giving off a slight sense of awe.

"Wow! You guys set up camp already!" Aoi said, guilt racked in their voice.

"Yeah, well, it was no problem really." Gray answered.

"So where did you go off to?" Erza asked, joining the conversation.

"Nowhere of importance really, I just wasn't feeling very good and decided to go for a walk." Aoi told her simply, not bothering to elaborate any further.

"Just for a walk?" Erza questioned. The scarlet-haired mage was not one to be pushed aside so easily, especially when it came to protecting her nakama.

"Yeah. Being alone with the trees and wildlife always helps me feel better. You see? You see how refreshed I look now?" Aoi asked, pointing to their childlike face and while Erza hated to admit it, the chauffer seemed to be completely rejuvenated and filled with youthful energy.

"Alright, well, I suppose we're just waiting on Natsu and Lucy now." Erza said, looking back towards the forest.

"Eh? Where did they go?"

"To collect some firewood. They should be back shortly." Titania answered. And true enough, the mages that had just previously been the subject of conversation walked through the trees a few minutes after.

* * *

"Hey, Aoi." Lucy spoke up, her eyes never leaving the orange flames of the campfire. It had grown dark by now and thousands of stars lit up the night sky. Lucy had been ecstatic at first, taking the opportunity to explain some of the visible constellations to her friends. But her excitement began to die down as sleep drew near. The lot of them had gotten into their sleeping bags and curled up around the fire, creating a ring. Lucy lay stretched out in her thick sheets. She was positioned the furthest away from the road. After her, lay Gray and Erza, in clockwise rotation. Aoi sat straight across from her. Lucy could only catch glimpses of the teal-haired person's figure, as the flames of the campfire would occasionally block her view. To her right was Natsu, who was already sleeping soundly. His mouth was agape, with a small stream of drool cascading down his cheek and small snores could also be heard from his direction.

"What is it?"

"What do you know about our mission?"

Gray and Erza's eyes flickered towards their teal-haired friend, suddenly very attentive to the pair's conversation.

"W-What do you mean, Lucy?"

"Well, you're from Suh Cuihpo, right? You must know why they needed the help of a stellar spirit mage." Lucy questioned, looking up from the fire to Aoi.

"Oh, yeah." Aoi answered, looking down at the fire, "You see, the story behind Suh Cuihpo's woes begins millennia ago, when the earth was still new and the Celestial Gods openly interfered in human affairs. The gods made their home in the darkest recesses of the night sky. As the legend goes, the gods wished to prove their power by lighting up even the blackest of night. When they completed this feat, the humans were in awe of their power and decided to build a town of their own underneath the home of the Celestial Gods. That town is Suh Cuihpo and ever since its undertaking, it holds a considerably close relationship with the gods. At first, the gods were unsure as to what should be done about the settlement-"

"But didn't the people build the village to honor the gods?" Lucy interrupted, her interest piqued. This was one story she had never heard of before.

Aoi looked up and smiled back. "You would think that they would be pleased. After all, they chose to live there in order to instill fear and admiration in the human race, but instead they were weary that the people would come to challenge them."

"How is that even possible though?" Lucy pressed, interrupting Aoi once again. The firelight flickered about the campsite in the dark, casting eerie shadows on Aoi's face. The teal-haired person's amber eyes seemed to be aglow in the dim light.

"At the base of the village is a tall and treacherous mountain, the jagged peaks of which stretch high enough into the sky to reach the home of the Celestial Gods. If people were to climb the mountain and reach the top, they could pose a threat to the gods if they ever wished to wage war on them. And the gods, judging the nature of humans, saw this as an all too possible reality. Thus, they agreed to not only let the town remain, but to bless it as well, however, this kindness came at a price. No human, from the village or from afar, would be allowed to approach, let alone climb, the mountain for all eternity. However, the Celestial Gods would eventually disappear and so would their warning. It became a legend, a fairy tale around these parts, not to be headed. But even so, few people ventured to the mountain. After being banned from the rocky peaks for so long, no person needed to impose upon the sacred land for their crops or farms or anything of the like. But some time ago, a young villager, wishing to dispel any mysteries surrounding the mountain, ventured to its base. He was never heard from again and afterwards, townspeople began to go missing. The sky at night darkened. The stars that once shone so bright, had become dull and listless. The Celestial Gods are long gone, but it would seem as if their curse remains, and without the assistance of the Celestial Spirits, the beings the Celestial Gods left responsible for their duties, our village has little hope of surviving."

Lucy stared at Aoi, enraptured by the child-like person's tale. It was invigorating to know she would soon be near the source of her power. Although, a slight chill nipped at her arms as she began to wonder what good she truly could do for this poor, forsaken town. She was a rookie mage at best and most of her accomplishments were achieved only through the assistance of her friends and teammates. Heck, Aquarius would nearly drown her, and whoever else was nearby, whenever she summoned her!

Doubt overtook her mind as she looked up towards the night sky. The stars in this part of the sky were still bright, spreading their light across the cosmos. Lucy shifted in her sleeping bag, turning her head once more to Aoi, who was staring straight back at her. She gave a warm smile to her newest friend and closed her eyes, falling into a deep slumber, never bothering to see the frown that marred their face in response.

* * *

"Listen, little girl, I'm sorry but I just can't accept your help."

"B-But why?"

"Well, for starters, this is a bar, meaning we serve alcohol here-"

"But back in my guild, nearly everyone drinks alcohol." Wendy protested. The barkeeper pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"That's not the point. The patrons here can get rather rowdy and unruly. I need someone who can keep them in line. You just-you just don't look like you can do that." he sighed.

Wendy could feel the dark cloud of depression that was forming over her head. She was hated being constantly underestimated. She was a dragon slayer after all, the daughter of the great Grandine! Why was it always like this?

"Eh, but Wendy is actually really strong-" Happy piped up in the young dragon slayer's defense.

"I'm sure that she is, but I just can't take that risk. When I sent the flyer out, I was kinda hoping the large, burly man with white hair and the scar running down the right side of his face would take the job. Even if he does have a "manly" complex, he kept the customers in line."

Wendy let out a tired laugh, knowing all too well as to just whom this man was referring to and couldn't help but wonder if Elfman's ears were ringing this very moment.

"But-" Happy tried to object, but was cut short.

"Just forget about it, Happy." Charle interrupted, aggravated by the man's condescending attitude. Although, if what the barkeeper said about his shop being so unruly was true, she was a little glad that he refused her charge's assistance. "Let's just go back home. It would seem as though we've only wasted our time in coming here."

"Ah, don't say that…" the store owner said tiredly, slightly embarrassed over the turn of events.

Charle glared at him in response. She clearly did not care for any of the excuses he had spouted earlier and was sure to let him know by her piercing gaze. The barkeeper stood there for a moment, frozen in what could only be fear. Regardless of the small white cat's size, she had a formidable aura that threatened to swallow him whole.

"Well, I hope you Fairy Tail mages have a safe trip back now." he called out, ducking behind his shop's wooden door, unable to stand Charle's stare any longer. The trio stared at the closed door in front of them for a moment. Wendy could feel herself slowly sink into depression, while Happy looked at the offending piece of wood, baffled at the man's rejection. Charle, however, wasted little time turning herself away from the rude barkeeper's shop.

"Hmph. He could have at least offered us some food or money. We did travel all the way out here." She huffed, beginning the tiring journey back with every step that led her farther away from the bar. The sun had begun to set and her figure cast a long shadow across the brick-layered pavement.

"C-Charle, don't be like that." Wendy protested, trying to improve her friend's mood, despite her own dispirited state.

"Excuse me!" a female voice called out from behind the group. "But did that man just say that you were mages?"

Wendy, Happy, and Charle collectively turned around to face the voice's owner. A tall woman sporting a rice hat large enough to obscure her facial features stood before them. She wore a dirty white T-shirt exposing her midriff and dark olive colored pants held up on her small waist by a brown leather belt. Happy was the first to notice the bell hanging from her hat. The light sparkled off of the small metallic ball, playing to his feline sensibilities. Entranced by the small gold object, Happy could not help but wonder just how he had not heard the bell chime as she approached them.

Charle spoke first. "And what if we are mages? For what reason do you seek us out?" she questioned, instantly suspicious.

The stranger removed her sugegasa, releasing a flood of pent-up brunette hair. The brown locks cascaded down to the middle of her back. Taupe eyes bore into the group and her thin lips formed a smile. The pale white skin covering her face was in direct contrast to her tanned arms. The uneven skin tone led Charle to believe, and correctly so, that the woman had been traveling for some time causing the odd looking tan. However, even with the contrasting skin tone and her sullied clothes, the woman held an ethereal beauty. It was a face that would haunt the dreams of most men, if she would only give them the pleasure of seeing it.

"My name is Rhiannon and if you are mages, I would very much like to speak with you."

* * *

**Ok, here's the question, where did I get the name Rhiannon? What was the inspiration?**

**Hint* Think 70's**


	6. Toshi

**Hey guys, I need to address this off the bat because quite frankly, I'm kinda pissed. I only got five reviews on my last chapter, one from my beta because she knew that I was upset that only four people commented. I really appreciate feedback to tell me what I am doing wrong and what I am doing right. I realize that the last chapter was not the most exciting or thrilling chapter to date and I do realize that it is taking some time for me to reach the climax, however, there are certain things I need to set up and establish before I can even get to exciting parts. Everything I do, I do for a reason, well, nearly everything. So please, I beg of you comment, even if it is only to say you loathe and despise me and my story and wish I would fall off a cliff for writing something so terrible and idiotic. Praise me, insult me, just COMMENT!**

**In addition, this chapter is dedicated to Ree-Vance who correctly answered that the inspiration for Rhiannon's name comes from the Fleetwood Mac song with the same title. I highly encourage you all to listen to it, particularly when I write parts with her in them. Also, she is the same woman who turned the rotten fruit ripe again back in chapter 4.**

**And, from this point on, I will refer to Aoi as both a "he" and a "she". I will try to do so in accordance as to who the viewpoint is from, meaning that since Gray and Lucy think that Aoi is a girl, whenever they are talking, they will use "she" and "her". Likewise, Natsu and Erza will use "he" and "his".**

**Finally, the question for this chapter is placed at the bottom of this chapter as well. The prize for winning is the same as last time; you get the chapter dedicated to you! Woohoo! Congratulations! Also, Ree-Vance, as you won this time, you can't answer this question just to make it fair, but you can answer the question posed in the next chapter! :)**

* * *

Toshi

"_My name is Rhiannon and if you are mages, I would very much like to speak with you."_

Charle stared at the stranger, trying to gauge the appropriate reaction to this outsider's request. But before the prim Exceed could answer, Happy spoke up.

"Aye! What can we help you with?" he answered merrily, floating toward the woman. He had been completely taken by the stranger's charm, much to Charle's chagrin. The blue Exceed wasn't even the same species as her and yet he was still drooling over this woman! Charle bit back her aggravation as the woman tickled the blue Exceed's chin, enthralling the male cat. Curling her paw into a fist and resisted the urge to punch him. Did he have no pride? They had no idea as to what the person wanted from them and he was cozying up to her as if he had known her all his life!

'For all we know, she could be a part of a dark guild! She could want to recruit us, or even worse, kill us!' Charle thought, but kept the notion to herself. If she was right, she figured that the worst thing to do was to call the woman out on it. Even so, Charle could feel her anger swelling as she watched the male cat swoon over the woman. She attributed the growing rage bottling up inside of her to his incredible stupidity, and not to the ridiculous notion of romantic attachment to the male Exceed that nagged at the back of her mind. After all, he had openly admitted to this intruder that they were mages, without learning what she wanted from them in return. Her anger just _had_ to be caused by his stupidity.

"Well, by any chance, are any of you a Stellar Spirit mage?" the woman asked, her eyes darkening slightly as she did so. Charle could feel her fur stand on end now and her thoughts momentarily focused on Lucy. She did not like this woman at all and could not see any reason as to why this woman would desire this type of information. The white Exceed made sure that her less than positive feelings toward the foreigner were anything but subtle.

"I don't see how that information can be of any use to you, so I think that this is where we will part ways." She hissed. Rhiannon stared at Charle for a moment, but the Exceed held her ground. The woman's smile twitched slightly, but rather than responding to Charle's jeering comment, Rhiannon switched her attention to Wendy. The small girl had tensed up slightly when the subject of Stellar Spirit mages arose and Rhiannon noticed the slip.

"What is your name, sweetie?" Rhiannon asked, her words dripping like honey. Before Wendy could answer, however, Charle had stepped in front of her, separating her charge from the russet-haired beauty.

"Her name is of no importance to you." Charle answered. Wendy was like a daughter to her, even if the white cat _was_ a few years younger than the small dragon-slayer behind her, and she would be damned if anything happened to her surrogate child.

"I'm sorry, small one, but I don't believe I asked you, and it is rather important that I learn what this child knows about Celestial mages." Rhiannon told her, her smile taking a rather twisted shape.

"You know," Happy interjected, still infatuated with the stranger, "Lucy is a Stellar Spirit mage."

Rhiannon whipped her head around to face the blue cat.

"Oh, so you know this person too!" Rhiannon exclaimed. Her face lit up, overshadowing the dark aura emanating from behind her. That was the last straw for Charle and a sinister cloud grew around her.

'Is that blue Exceed so weak in the knees that he would sell out his nakama?' Charle thought bitterly.

"Yeah, she's really weird. She-" Happy tried to continue, but was suddenly overtaken by a flash of white fur. Charle had taken out her duck tape once more and had strapped a piece firmly over his mouth.

"I should have never let your blabber mouth go!" she yelled, now working on restraining his arms and legs, making the bonds much tighter than she had before. Happy let out a muffled cry, but Charle ignored him, preoccupied in her handiwork, until she heard the stranger speak.

"So who is this Lucy? Where can I find her?"

Charle turned her head to see the woman was now speaking to Wendy.

"Uh...umm..." Little Wendy stammered, taking a few steps back from the stranger.

"Please believe me when I say that it is imperative that I find her."

"Stay away from Wendy!" Charle spat, rushing to her charge's defense, dragging Happy behind her.

"You are quite the feisty one." Rhiannon commented, sticking out a finger to intercept the charging cat. Charle unwillingly complied and ran straight into the woman's extended finger. The white Exceed flew back a few inches from the impact, and pulled up a paw to rub the dime-sized sore on her head.

"Ch-Charle," Wendy croaked out, worried for her friend's well-being.

Rhiannon surveyed the scene for a moment. The little girl known as Wendy was clearly uneasy, the white cat was angry and now hurt, if only slightly, because of what Rhiannon had done, and the blue cat was tied up, which was also Rhiannon's fault. She sighed. The mage had to admit that she sure had made a mess of this greeting. Rhiannon stood up and placed her sugegasa back on. "I'm sorry for hurting you. You don't need to tell me about Lucy or anyone else for that matter. But, please just let her know that if what I hear is true she, and every other Stellar Spirit mage, is in grave danger."

"Danger?" Wendy questioned.

Rhiannon nodded, once again towering over the group of pint-sized Fairy Tail mages.

"And what makes you think that?" Charle asked, eyeing the woman suspiciously.

Rhiannon didn't answer, but instead pulled at the gold chain that fell underneath her collar, revealing a golden ring holding a small hourglass in the middle. A grain of sand floated down to the bottom, only adding to the uneven distribution of sand in the contraption.

"I'm sorry. I don't have the time to explain. Just let her know that under no circumstances should she take any request that asks specifically for Stellar Spirit mages. If she heeds my warning, it just might save her life." Just as Rhiannon was about to depart, a loud muffle came from Happy. Well, much louder than his previous attempts to speak against the tape. The three females turned to stare at him; tears were welling in his eyes now. He wiggled desperately against his restraints.

"I think he wants to tell us something." Wendy said, approaching the tied up Exceed. Quickly, she removed the tape, and her actions were immediately followed by an earsplitting cry.

"OOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Happy yelped, clutching his mouth. Wendy smiled apologetically at him, realizing there were bits of blue fur caught in the tape she held in her hand.

"Sorry, Grandine always told me to get unpleasant things over with as soon as possible, otherwise, you only prolong the agony."

Happy rubbed his jaw, feeling the newly acquired bald spots. His eyes were as large as saucers and torrents of tears fell down his cheeks.

"You. Do you know something about what I just said?" Rhiannon questioned, her impatience showing. "Tell me what you know!" she commanded, picking him up by the scruff of his neck and holding him within a hair's breadth of her face.

Happy gulped, suddenly afraid of her switch in personality.

'All women are just scary!' he thought to himself.

"Come on! Talk!" she demanded once more, shaking him violently.

"Ahhhh!" he yelled, "SCARY!"

"Knock it off and put him down." Charle interrupted. Rhiannon looked down to her and then back at Happy and reluctantly released her grip on the latter. Even she admitted that she needn't tarnish her reputation any further with this group. And when she released the male cat he fell to the ground rather unceremoniously, not expecting to be given his freedom so suddenly.

"Happy, what do you know about this?" Wendy asked, getting on her knees to peer into the blue Exceed's face.

"The mission Natsu, Lucy, and the others went on specifically required a Stellar Spirit mage!" Happy blurted out, tears once again forming in his eyes but this time for a different reason.

Wendy let out a gasp, bringing up a hand to cover her mouth. Rhiannon's eyes narrowed, her lips pursed as she realized the implications of what he had just said. Meanwhile, Charle clutched her head as she felt a vision overtaking her senses, just as the sun's last rays fell behind the horizon.

* * *

"Mmmnnnnn..." Lucy grimaced in her sleep, shifting her position. She had been sleeping peacefully for a while now, but her dream had begun to take a turn for the worse.

It was a rather dull dream at first. It had started with her waking up in her apartment, with the scent a fresh new day upon her windowsill. She was exuberant, and found herself terribly excited to run down to the guild to meet up with her friends. She had just finished the novel for her new book, although she couldn't remember what it was about. She picked up the novel from her desk,

"Ophiuchus…" she read aloud. She let out a soft hum of disapproval. For the life of her, she could not remember what the story was about, but under the title, in decorative golden embossment, read "By Lucy Heartphilia".

Lucy felt herself edge her fingers to the bottom edge of the cover, just itching to turn it over and read its contents, but something stopped her. Somehow, she knew that if she opened that first page, things would change. Her fingers lingered over the leather binding, and her breathing had become shallow. Slowly, she retracted her hand and opted to place the book into her bag before heading off to Fairy Tail. She honestly did not think much else about the incident; after all, the strangest things can occur in one's dreams and still maintain an air of normality.

As she raced to her pseudo home, she noticed something was wrong. The usually cheerful vibe that filled the air and rambunctious rabble that made her smile was absent. A foreign trepidation entered her being as she opened the doors. The guild was deserted, not a soul in sight.

"H-Hello?" she called out nervously, only the silence answering her.

She walked around the guild, peering into the various rooms, nooks, and crannies for any source of life. She was about to give up hope, when a woman's sobbing rekindled her faith and beckoned her to find the owner. Lucy looked around the town, noticing for the first time that it too, was empty and abandoned for some reason. She shivered; an ominous chill hung in the air and nipped at her naked arms. As she began to make her way to the outskirts of town, the sound grew louder and Lucy realized that the singular cry had now broken out into a chorus of anguished cries and weeping.

She climbed the hill leading out to the graveyard, happening upon a procession. The people were all dressed in black and their numbers were so large that Lucy figured that this must be where all the town's occupants had disappeared to. She inched closer to the crowd, her curiosity growing. Excusing herself, she pushed apart the crowd occupying the front. The people did not seem to mind her at all. After she would break through one ring of people, they would simply fill back in the gap as if she had never been there at all, but perhaps the strangest thing about the entire scenario, was that she recognized none of these people. Finally, she saw the familiar flowing green hair of her western-obsessed friend.

"Bisca!" she called out, happy to see someone she finally knew. Her happiness soon turned to fear as she noticed the tears falling down the cowgirl's face. Alzach placed a comforting arm around her and she curled into his embrace.

"Bisca?" Lucy questioned, getting ignored by the emerald-haired woman. Lucy turned her head away from the couple and continued pressing through the crowd. The faces and bodies she now pushed through were that of her own guild members, but each and every time she called out to them, they didn't respond.

When she broke through the crowd, she noticed Mira to her right, recognizing her cries as the sobs that brought her to this place. To the white-haired mage's right, stood a solemn Makarov, his eyes red and puffy from the tears he had previously shed. But what truly caught Lucy's eye, were the four monuments that towered above her. Each figure was made out of granite. The structure closest to Mira resembled ice crystals, shooting at least three feet into the air. Next to that, rode a woman on an elegant-looking steed. The horse was rearing back as the female warrior, clad in decorative armor, raised a sword to the sky. A dragon sculpture came next; its mouth was kept wide open as if any moment now, it would spew fire. Finally, her eyes fell upon a statue of an angel. It reminded her of her mother's grave, but this angel cupped her hands to her waist and cradled what looked like a star.

She approached the grave, feeling a strong attachment to the sculpted rock. She took in the long, wavy hair of the heavenly creature and the detail given to the robes. Lucy stretched out a hand to touch the granite as if to ensure there was no material draping over it to give the stone its lucid and flowing appearance. She followed the angel's dress all the way down to the star, and traced the celestial object's shape with her index finger. She continued to let her eyes wander down the piece until the met the headstone and nearly jumped back when she read the name at the bottom of the plaque.

"L-L-Lucy Heartphilia?" she gasped, turning around, realizing this funeral was for her.

'B-But how?' Lucy wondered. 'I'm right here...' She pulled on her shirt, trying to test if it was real.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!" She shouted aloud this time, but no one heard her. Before she could do much else, a wave of panic settled in. If that was her grave, then who did the others belong to? But as soon as she asked herself the question, she was fairly certain she knew the answer, and if she could choose a moment to be wrong in her life, she would have chosen this one. However, as she read each plaque, she found herself proven right. Lucy collapsed to the ground, her tears readily pouring down her face, adding to the overwhelming cries of her friends. Her hands rose to her face and began to pull at her own skin, leaving bright red nail marks. Some fingers hooked into the sides of her mouth as they cascaded down her face, and she could feel the edges of her lips rip slightly as she pulled on them. Lucy ignored the raw sensation of pain however, too hysterical to bother with it.

"_How_? How can this have happened?" She cried out, between tormented sobs. Her chest heaved and fell at an irregular pace. Lucy felt as if she could not breathe in enough air to support her lungs.

"You did not heed our warning." A voice called to her. Lucy looked up, her vision blurry from her tears.

"W-What?"

"You must go back. Do not share our fate."

Lucy's tears began to subside. Even if she did not recognize the voice, her heart found some small solace in it. At the very least, she wasn't here in this godforsaken place alone. As her vision began to clear, she saw the scenery around her begin to fade, the graveyard, the monuments, and her friends all disappearing, but the people she had previously taken for villagers remained. A man stepped out from among the group of people, distinguishing himself from among the others. He had dark violet hair and a roguish scar marring the left side of his face, stretching from his eye to the corner of his lip, giving him a sort of dangerous charm. The injury prevented him from opening his one eye, but the other showed they were an astonishing light blue. He was quite tall and towered over the other people behind him. Had Lucy not been so distraught over what she had just seen, she might have felt her heart quicken and cheeks flush at the sight of him.

"W-What?" she stammered, responding to the voice's statement, ignoring the cold, smooth object brushing against her leg.

"If you wish to save the lives of yourself and your friends, you will leave this place." the boy spoke.

'So he's the owner of the voice.' Lucy thought.

"I don't understand." The blonde whimpered, feeling whatever had brushed up against her leg moments ago begin to crawl up her body, ensnaring her within its grasp. She looked down to see the same snake that had haunted her earlier that day, crawling up onto her once more.

"Go back and never return."

"B-But those people need my help." Lucy protested, her tears dying down as she was now more preoccupied in her struggle to free herself from the wretched serpent. She wiggled against the beast, but it simply suppressed her more with every movement.

The man shook his head solemnly, "No, it's a t-" his voice trailed off as his figure began to disappear alongside the other people standing behind him.

Even if the man hadn't vanished into the dreadful, empty white space along with his compatriots, Lucy wouldn't have been able to hear him over the sound of her own strangled scream. The snake seemed to get a sick pleasure out of her pain and Lucy swore she could make out a hideous smile spreading across the serpent's face.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she cried out, positive she couldn't take anymore of this.

* * *

Suddenly, she jolted upright, the sound of her own heavy panting echoing in her ear. She could feel the thin film of sweat that coated her body, a byproduct of her nightmare. Or so she thought, until she turned her head and realized that sometime during the night, she had edged closer to fire, making the smoldering blaze a possibly culprit as well. She switched her focus from the flames to her comrades, all of which were still asleep. Lucy let out a sigh of relief that she didn't know she was holding in. It was a welcomed respite to see them all alive and sleeping peacefully. She cocked her head to the east, noticing that the bright rays of the morning sun were just making their appearance against the horizon.

'It's still early,' she thought to herself, wondering what she should do now. She certainly didn't want to go back to sleep. She slumped over, desperately wishing that the nightmares would end. She was starting to dread the act of sleeping and could only shiver as she thought about what she would do that night if the nightmares persisted.

'Maybe I'll feel better if I can find a place to take a shower.' She reasoned. After all, she was a woman who loved her baths. Lucy wrangled herself free from the prison of soft sheets that held her and made her way to her luggage as quietly as she could. She knew she wouldn't wake Natsu, but Erza and Gray had unusually sharp ears and she definitely did not want to learn the punishment for disturbing Erza's beauty sleep. Slowly, she unzipped the suitcase, cringing at how loud the metal teeth pulled away from each other.

'Has it always been this noisy?' Lucy thought to herself. Slowly, she rummaged through the messy bag. She frowned as she pulled out balled-up pieces of clothing, most of which didn't match the other. She sighed and wished that she could have had more time to pack.

Unfortunately, there was only one train leaving out to Cancaro. Apparently, Suh Cuipho didn't have its own rail station, so they had to settle for a town nearby that did, and it was leaving in fifteen minutes. Lucy had to run back to her apartment so she could pack whatever she could. Natsu had opted to go with her to help, well, more like Erza _forced_ him to help. Lucy had tried to give him an easy job; take the clothes from her drawers and put them in her suitcase while she got together a few snacks, blankets, and the toiletries that she was now searching for.

'Ugh, it figures that that clueless idiot would seemingly go _out_ of his way to pack clothes that don't match. Why did I even leave him in charge of packing my clothes?' She grumbled internally. 'He doesn't even wear a proper shirt for goodness sake!' After mentally cursing herself, her hand traced over the familiar plastic bottles she had been looking for.

"Finally!" she whispered in joy, pulling free her soap, shampoo, and conditioner. Gathering up her desired prizes and placing them in her smaller and far easier to carry knapsack, she jammed her crumpled up clothes back into the luggage. Her triumph was short-lived, however. One look at the foreboding treescape told the stellar spirit mage that all of her efforts had been in vain. She instantaneously knew that there was no way she could make it out, and the chances of her finding some body of water in the vast array of green was slim already. Lucy slumped her shoulders over, suddenly dejected.

'I suppose I'll have to make do with walking instead.' she sighed, slinging her bag to the ground and headed down the road the way that they had come. She traversed the empty and desolate road for over thirty minutes. The sun was now clearly visible over the mountain top, and Lucy was enjoying the early morning rays of sunshine, when she heard a small and desperate sounding plea.

"Toshi! Toshi, where are you?"

Lucy kept up her pace, heading directly towards the child's voice. Her curiosity got the better of her just as it had in her dream, and she could feel a chill run up her spine at the thought. Oddly enough however, she found that the memory of nightmare was fading, and quickly. She stopped in her tracks, putting a hand to head as if it could help draw out the dream, but to no avail.

'There was something about a book, and then…did I die? But what about that boy?' she mused. Her recollection of the nightmare was only getting worse.

"Hey, lady," A child sounded. Lucy looked down as she felt a slight tug at her skirt. A small boy with messy silver hair was staring up at her with a pair of dark blue eyes. He had small patches of dirt on his face and his soft blue t-shirt was smeared with a light coating of dirt as well. Lucy did not think much of it however, because to her, boys were always getting dirty. It was just how they played, like how girls would always play dress-up with make-up and expensive-looking garments. Forgetting her personal dilemma, she bent down to the boy's level and smiled at him.

"Yes?"

"Have you seen my dog, Toshi? He's big and brown, with a white spot covering his entire ear." he said gesticulating wildly. Lucy couldn't suppress her giggle at his over-the-top antics.

"I'm sorry. I can't say that I have."

The small twinkle of hope that had resided in the youngster's eye moments before vanished. He looked to be utterly crushed and Lucy couldn't help but feel guilty about it.

"I'll tell you what though, I'll help you look for Toshi until we find him." she answered, a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Uh-huh! But before we get started, what's your name?"

"Haru!" He told her happily.

"Nice to meet you! My name is Lucy!" she said, holding out a hand for him to shake. He took her hand and completed the customary gesture before setting off down the road, calling out for his lost pet.

"Toshi!" Lucy hollered, calling into the trees to her right. The boy copied her actions, calling into the brush to his left. Lucy turned around to face the rising sun. Surely, her friends would be waking up by now and would be concerned about her whereabouts. Still, she couldn't just leave Haru alone. Hopefully they wouldn't do anything too stupid in her absence.

* * *

"Lucy!" Erza hollered into the woods. She paused, waiting for a response that never came. She sighed and stole a glance at Aoi. The small charioteer was visibly shaken up by Lucy's disappearance and had been the first to sound the cries of alarm. Erza couldn't help but notice the oddly misplaced feeling of anger in Aoi's voice.

"I can't believe she freakin' left! Damn it all!" Aoi cursed running to his chariot, determined to return Lucy to the group.

"Aoi," Erza called after him, but found herself being ignored.

"Aoi, you need to calm down." Erza told him.

Aoi turned his perch from atop the chariot to glare at Erza.

"Do not think that _you_ can _ever_ tell me what to do." he spat back at her.

Erza was taken aback by the usually meek child's answer. She stared at him, stupefied, noticing his nostrils flare in his excitement, or perhaps it was fury. Erza couldn't be sure at this point.

"Oi. You should learn to be more respectful towards your elders." Gray sounded, coming to Erza's rescue, placing a cool hand on her shoulder, "Lucy didn't leave us. She would never just abandon us, we're nakama. Besides, she's not that kind of person anyway and," Gray continued, gesturing to the pile of luggage behind him, "Lucy's stuff is still here."

Aoi's eyes flickered towards Lucy's pink suitcases, and Erza and Gray could almost see the wheels in the teal-haired individual's head turn and grind, processing the information. His body relaxed slightly and he let out a sigh, much to the two Fairy Tail mage's belief.

"I'll go wake up fire _retard-_ant," Gray said, stressing the first two syllables, "and, we'll have him look for her with his freakish sense of smell." Gray gave Erza a slight pat on the shoulder and turned around to wake up Natsu, who had unbelievably managed to sleep through the entire affair. Erza however, kept an eye on Aoi, who was now climbing down from the vehicle. Her eyes hardened on his retreating figure, which was now stalking off towards the edge of camp.

"Hey, Squinty Eyes, wake the hell up!" Gray ordered, kicking the dragon slayer's sleeping bag with Natsu still inside it.

"Goddamn it!" Natsu screamed out in confusion, awakened suddenly by Gray's foot slamming into his side. The pink-haired mage looked up to face his attacker, shedding off the sleeping bag in an instant.

"What the hell, Ice Prick?"

"Shut up, Ash Brain! Just go find Lucy, will ya?"

"Huh? Where is she?" Natsu questioned, looking around the campsite for a glimpse of the blonde mage.

"If we knew where she was, we wouldn't need you to look for her, would we?" Gray spat back, closing and rubbing his temples in agitation.

'How can one guy be so stupid?' he thought to himself. He could hear a slight intake of air in front of him, and knew that it meant that Natsu had finally thought of a comeback, but Gray, not in the mood to continue this back and forth for much longer, cut him off before he could even begin.

"Just go use your sense of smell to find her. She might have gotten herself into some trouble for all we know."

"Argh!" Natsu bit out. He desperately wanted to smash Gray's smug face in, but if there was even the chance that Lucy was in trouble, he would have to rescue her first. Without wasting another second, the dragon slayer raced down the road, following Lucy's scent. To him, her smell reminded him of baked apples and brown sugar. He found the combination weird, but he enjoyed it, and it suited her since she was such a weirdo after all.

* * *

"Toshi!" Lucy called out once more. She sighed when nothing answered her call. They had been searching for at least an hour with no signs of the dog or anything else for that matter.

"Are you sure he ran off in this direction?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, I was taking him on a walk when he saw a squirrel and took off after it. He was pulling so hard that I lost my grip on his leash and I haven't seen him for two days now."

"T-Two days!" Lucy gasped, finally understanding why the boy looked so dirty and disheveled. He had been camping out in the forest alone just so he could find his pet. "Your parents must be worried sick by now! What were thinking staying out in a place like this by yourself?" she scolded.

The boy scoffed and looked back at her. "I doubt they even realize I'm gone. Ever since my little sister was born, I've been practically invisible. Only Toshi hasn't changed. He's my real family, so if I have to stay out here for the rest of my life to find him, I will."

Lucy sighed; she knew what it felt like to feel invisible. If her father succeeded at anything in his miserable life, Lucy knew that it was being a failure of a parent. He never even once wished her a happy birthday from as far back as she could remember. But still, this boy was far too young to be gallivanting about in the forest on his own.

"Besides," Haru said, adding to his previous statement, "you can't be more than seven years older than me, so what gives _you_ the right to be out here by yourself?"

"Firstly, I am not out here by myself. I came here with my friends, but I decided to take a quick walk this morning when I ran into you. And secondly, I am a mage, meaning I can use magic to protect myself from, well, from anything bad, I guess."

"You don't look very strong to me. I bet you that your friends just save your butt all the time."

Lucy felt his words pierce her like a knife. The brat had her pegged right down to the core and it pissed her off. It wasn't _her_ fault that she was so weak. She was trying to collect more keys and become stronger and she had managed to hold her own…occasionally. Lucy was finally ready with her retort when she heard the far off cry of a dog barking.

"Toshi!" Haru cried out happily, shouting the dog's name even more, darting into the trees towards the sound.

"Haru, wait!" Lucy called out after him, taking after him into the brush. The darkness seemed to consume her right away, but she pushed the thought aside, opting to focus on catching up with Haru. Luckily, he was screaming Toshi's name the entire way, making him easy to follow. Lucy doubted that she would have been able to find him if he wasn't shouting. It wasn't like she had a freakishly good sense of smell like Natsu.

"Toshi!" Haru continued to cry out. The barking grew louder as the two pushed through the brambles. "TOSHI!" He yelled, upon entering a clearing. In his excitement, Haru failed to notice that Toshi's barks had been directed at something slithering behind the trees.

"Come on, Toshi. Let's go home." Haru commanded, getting up and walking towards the brush he had just come from.

Toshi didn't move. Rather, the canine spread out his back to his legs and crouched down, ready to attack. A low and feral snarl escaped his lips. Haru could feel a slight twinge of fear nip at his heart. He had never known Toshi to behave as such and it scared him to see it. "T-Tosh- AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A bloodcurdling scream filled the air.

* * *

**Seriously guys, if I don't get at least 10 comments on this chapter, expect quite some time to go by before I update. I will finish the story no matter what but if people don't care enough about this story to comment, I can be doing more productive things with my time. I too have a life and can be doing something other than spend hours at my computer writing to crank out the next chapter for you guys. I could be cleaning out my car, tidying up my room, running a vacuum, hanging out with friends, or studying for my macro economics class which I am not doing all too well in right now. I have a slew of options. I don't mean to be mean or pushy and I do realize that I am being both right now, but it's frustrating to work your butt off on a chapter and have almost no one seem to care. And when people don't comment, that's kind of what I think, that people did not care enough to comment, and seriously, you know that's true too because if I don't care about a story, I probably won't comment. So please comment, I don't want to feel like a loser that's wasting her time writing stories that no one gives two *expletive*'s about.**

**Well, after all that ranting I'm sure you're eager to know what the question is so without further adieu, who is my inspiration for Haru?**

**Hint*: It's a fan service for loyal Hiro Mashima fans.**


	7. Ostriches

**Author'S Note: Just WOW you guys! I got two comments with the first hour of posting if not sooner, and then a slew more followed. Thank you all so much! I hope that you keep commenting! I probably won't put a comment requirement on my next chapter though because I felt bad about forcing you guys to do it out of fear that I wouldn't continue, or at least continue in a timely manner. And I came up with that decision hours after I posted chapter so those of you who did not respond all too kindly to my request, (this is really petty but,) I didn't do it because of what you said. And, for those concerned reviewers, I did say that I was going to finish this story regardless of the amount of comments I got so never think that I won't.**

**Anyway, I still do LOVE to receive comments so if you have the time or really enjoyed something like my "fire **_**retard**_**-ant" insult Gray made in the last chapter, I would love to know. I also laughed so hard at most of your guys comments. They kept me going the rest of my day! :)**

**Lastly, this comment is dedicated to ShiningStellar who was the first person to buzz in with the correct answer of Haru from Rave Master. Thank you everyone for trying. A lot of you got it right and I wish that I could let you all win, but rules are rules.**

**The question for this chapter will be at the end of the chapter as it will be from this point on.**

**P.S. Whoever reviewed with the name yourworstnightmareifyodont, that is the kind of smart-ass-ed-ness that I LOVE! XD**

Ostriches

'Shit! Haru!' Lucy thought, wondering as to how she could have allowed herself to lose track of him. Unfortunately for her, the particular foliage covering this area of the forest placed her at a disadvantage compared to shorter individuals like Haru, or Aoi, for instance. Thick branches stretched out from the grainy tree trunks that littered the area; however, they did not grow low enough to impede the speed of vertically-challenged people like Haru, much to Lucy's chagrin.

"LUCY!"

Lucy cocked her head to her left, towards the direction of the sound, a decision she instantly regretted when her face collided with a hard tree branch. She fell to the forest floor and threw up a hand to massage her injured right temple. Lucy kicked the tree next to her where the offending branch had originated from.

'Damn tree,' she cursed, getting back up to her feet. The stellar spirit mage looked past the tree to her left once again for a brief moment. Lucy wasn't sure if she was going crazy or not, but she could have sworn that that was Natsu's voice calling out to her, but as to why he would be all the way out here, she hadn't had the foggiest.

"!"

'Haru!' the blonde remembered. Lucy shrugged off her thoughts regarding the mysterious voice calling her name, knowing that more important matters were at stake and made her way to the source of the screaming. The brush seemed to be clearing up to Lucy's relief and the Stellar Spirit mage could make the fallen outline of Haru. At first she was relieved to see that he was still in one piece, but fear ripped through her when she noticed the large entity poised over him. Lucy could feel her heart jump to her throat, sensing the danger the boy was in and willed her feet to power her faster. In an instant, she jumped through the foliage into the clearing and dove towards Haru's fallen body. Lucy felt the soft fabric of his shirt and she knew that she had a hold on him. Yanking the cloth to her chest, she captured the boy's body in her arms, pulling him into her fall. Beside her, she could feel the rush of displaced air created by the monster as it lunged at the spot where Haru's body had just been. But Lucy did not have much time to dwell on the unpleasant sensation of narrowly avoiding being the beast's morning snack, as the ground came rushing up to her. She rolled her shoulder to the left, trying to shield the child and take the brunt of the impact herself.

The dirt floor had been harder than Lucy had imagined it would be and she cringed at the contact. Lucy opened her eyes after they skidded to a halt, quickly looking down to see Haru safely cradled in her arms and instantly felt relieved, knowing he was safe. Her reprieve was short-lived however, as she realized a dark shadow was now looming over her.

'A snake?' Lucy thought horrified, staring at the oversized serpent incredulously. The olive-toned snake leered menacingly, its threatening amber eyes forcing Lucy into action. She pushed herself and Haru off the ground and in one swift move, Lucy heaved Haru up so his head hung over her shoulder. His body was slanted slightly, causing his legs to beat against her left thigh whenever she moved. Despite this inconvenience and the possible bruising it could lead to, Lucy preferred the new position, as it allowed her to only support the child with one arm and thus, freeing up her other to arm to pull forth her keys. With her left arm poised threateningly as she held forth her golden keys, Lucy narrowed her eyes at the beast. She did not want to fight the creature, not like this anyway. She knew that as long as she was holding onto Haru, she was at an extreme disadvantage and merely hoped the serpent was wise enough not to mess with a mage.

"Leave," she commanded, and suppressed a shiver when she saw the creature's face contort into an ugly grin. However, to her surprise, the snake did what she told it to and turned away from her. It was now focused on a small, brown object across the field. Lucy felt relieved that it had chosen to leave them alone, until she saw the brown mass begin to expand and contract. It was breathing! Whatever it was, it was a living thing and almost as if she had been struck by lightning, the stellar spirit mage suddenly remembered Haru's description of Toshi.

'_He's big and brown with a white spot covering his entire ear!'_

'Toshi!' Lucy thought, horrified. Although she couldn't see the white ear, she knew that the brown object lying there could only be Haru's beloved pet. After all, they were in this predicament because they heard barking coming from deep inside the woods.

"No! Stop!" Lucy screamed, trying her best to run with Haru in her hands, but was forced to admit that the extra baggage slowed her down tremendously. The snake ignored her and lunged for the downed canine.

"Noooo!" she cried and like an answer to her prayers, an orange-reddish hue emerged from the tree line right in front of the beast. The flaming fist was soon followed by a furious-looking Natsu. His fist collided with the serpent just before it could swoop down and swallow the dog. The monstrous snake flew back, falling into some trees and crushing them under its girth.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed happily. He always had her back. Lucy couldn't help but be amazed at how he always managed to be there for her.

"Hey, Luce! What's up?" he smiled back at her, and if Lucy didn't know better, she would swear that just a minute ago, he had not punched a giant snake twelve yards into the air. Speaking of which… The snake bounded up from its bed of broken trees to glare at Natsu. The snake slithered towards the dragon-slayer, emitting an awful high-pitched cry. Lucy brought her free hand to her ears, despite that it was still clutching onto her keys. She looked up in time to see the creature lunge towards Natsu. He was about to dodge, when Lucy realized that Toshi was still lying right next to him. If the snake missed Natsu, it would most certainly hit Toshi.

"Natsu! The dog!" she yelled.

The dragon-slayer looked down, noticing the dog for the first time.

"Kuso," He swore, flames now erupting from his feet. The fire propelled him far over the treetops and even the head of the snake, much to the monster's surprise.

"Fire Dragon's," he said, pulling his left leg up to his face, flames continuing to dance in a trail behind him, tracing up to his leg, "CLAW!" Natsu yelled, bringing down his leg on top of the snake's head, sending it crashing into the ground just a few feet shy of Toshi. Dust flew up from the impact and Lucy braced herself as a shockwave of air hit her.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled angrily, opening her eyes once most of the dust had settled. "You nearly killed Toshi!"

"Hey! He's still alive, isn't he?" Natsu shot back.

Lucy huffed and made her way over to the canine, relieved that Natsu was indeed correct that the dog was still alive. However, it had been badly beaten. She knelt down next to the injured pet, laying Haru down beside her. Toshi's head was soaked in blood and his front left leg seemed to be broken. Lucy couldn't be sure whether the wounds were inflicted prior to Natsu's stunt or not, but as long as they weren't life-threatening, she supposed it didn't matter much. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, but could not revel in the canine's survival long. The ground jerked and vibrated parlously beneath her and Lucy swore she hear her bones rattle. Slowly, the blonde turned her head to face the sight she feared; the snake was getting back up. It shook its head, small rocks falling down to the dirt below with each shake of the head.

"It's still moving?" she cried out.

"KKYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the beast screamed. Lucy ran her fingers up to her ears once again to block out the deafening wail. Even so, the howl penetrated her defenses and she could feel it coil itself around her very being.

"All right! Time for Round Two! I'm all fired up!" Natsu answered in response to the serpent's shriek. And despite his superior hearing, he showed no signs of irritation left over from the snake's yell. Rather, the dragon-slayer seemed incredibly eager.

'Monster,' Lucy thought, referring to both beings in front of her.

"Hey, Lucy."

"Eh?"

"Take that dog and kid and get to a safe place while I deal with this guy," Natsu told her, jabbing a thumb towards the overgrown serpent. Lucy starred at her pink-haired friend for a moment, but the confidence that exuded from his entire being told her that the dragon-slayer could handle the monster.

"Fine. Just don't burn it beyond recognition."

Natsu looked down at her, confused as to her sudden concern for the snake.

"I've always wanted a pair of snakeskin boots," She joked, scooping up Toshi in her free arm and Haru in her other while she staggered to her feet.

'Boy, these guys are heavy. Maybe I should start lifting weights,' Lucy grumbled internally, moving as far away from the battlefield as she could muster. Her sore and feeble arms forced her to settle for a spot just on the opposite edge of the clearing, right at the tree line. She dropped to her knees, laying Toshi down first and then, using a tree to support the child, doing the same for Haru.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Lucy could hear Natsu cry out in the background. Her eyes noticed the orange and red flickering light flirting against the brown wood and green grass around her. Lucy knew that it could only be caused by the giant fireball that her friend had magically brought forth, breathing the flames into life just as easily as she called upon her spirits. But instead of worrying about Natsu, Lucy chose to be slightly more productive with her time and watch over Haru and the others. Only sparing a second to lament her skirt, Lucy tore a piece of the blue fabric off and used it to blot off some of the blood covering the canine.

"Sorry," she mumbled as the canine winced under her touch. Meanwhile, Lucy could hear the fight rage on behind her.

* * *

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu yelled, his clenched hands covered in flames. In one swift blow, he knocked the creature down just as he had been doing for the past ten minutes and just like all those times before, the serpent slithered back up.

"Bring it you overgrown worm, I'm just getting warmed up." Natsu smirked, always eager for a challenge.

The serpent glared at Natsu, slowly easing its long, muscular body to the right of the dragon-slayer. Natsu was oblivious to the snake's shifting body. He was too focused on the head to bother looking anywhere else, an oversight that would lead to his downfall.

* * *

"Mmrrrrnnnnn," Haru mumbled, rubbing his head.

"Good, you're awake now." the boy heard a female voice tell him.

"Huh?" he murmured, slowly opening his eyes. The bright light from the sun flooded his senses, leaving him momentarily blind. He blinked a few times, the world slowly coming into focus. Lucy knelt over him, smiling, glad that he was waking up and coming to.

"Fire Dragon's Elbow!" a male voice screamed from behind her. Haru looked behind the stellar spirit mage towards the origin of the cry. His body quivered with fear when he noticed the terrible monster that was still in the clearing with them, but he managed to bite back his scream. Suddenly, a flash of pink and red darted into his line of vision and he noticed a boy fighting the creature. Flames darted and erupted around the pink-haired mage as he battled the creature head on. Haru watched in amazement as the man gave the serpent a powerful kick to the jaw, sending its head rearing back.

"Wow," He breathed out, more intelligent words failing him at the moment.

"How are you feeling?" Lucy asked, leaning over him to place a cool hand to his forehead, inadvertently showcasing her oversized bust in the process.

"F-Fine," He stuttered, a blush creeping across his face.

'Awww. He can be really cute sometimes,' Lucy thought to herself, smiling warmly at him, completely oblivious that it was her unintentionally provocation position that made him behave as such. Haru quickly turned away from her, his embarrassment getting the better of him. In doin so, his gaze fell upon the injured Toshi.

"Toshi!" he cried out, scrambling to his friend's side. "I'm so sorry, Toshi." he whispered, petting the canine tenderly, "This is all my fault. Please forgive me."

"Your fault?" Lucy questioned.

"Yes. Toshi protected me from that snake and that's how he got hurt," Haru answered, silent tears streaming down his face now.

Lucy was about to protest, when a loud yell caught the pair's attention.

"WWAAAHHHH-MMRGRESH!"

Lucy turned back to where Natsu and the creature had been fighting, only to see that the pink-haired dragon-slayer had been ensnared in the serpent's coils. His face had turned a sickly green color and Lucy knew just what that meant.

"You idiot!" she shrieked. "Do you really consider that _thing_ transportation?"

Natsu tried to respond but only ailing sounds could be heard from the unfortunate mage.

Lucy growled at his stupidity, hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand in frustration. Without wasting another second, she turned back to Haru, her expression deadly serious.

"Listen. If you want to repay Toshi, then watch over him while I go help my friend," Leaving the boy to consider her words, she left to go help Natsu.

The serpent shook him violently and appeared to take great pleasure in beating the trapped dragon-slayer's head upon whatever hard object it could think of.

"Lucy Kick!" Lucy yelled, extending her leg to hit the portion of the beast coiled around Natsu. But sadly, Lucy lacked the ridiculous strength her friends all seemed to share and her kick fell flat. The stellar spirit mage felt her momentum immediately die when she hit the snake. It was like kicking a brick wall and with the momentum now gone, she could feel herself falling to the ground.

"Owww," Lucy groaned, rubbing her behind, which had taken the full brunt of the fall.

"WRUSHY," Natsu managed to gurgle, causing Lucy to look up into the golden eyes of the serpent. The blonde held back a gulp and fumbled for her keys while closing her eyes. The stellar spirit mage knew that she would never reach her precious gateways to the spirit realm in time. However, when she felt the cool metallic rods that were her keys, she knew something was wrong. Opening her eyes, she saw the snake had continued to toy with Natsu. It mostly likely considered it payback for all the blows the dragon-slayer had inflicted upon it earlier or perhaps it was just tenderizing the mage, preparing it for digestion. Either way, Lucy didn't care; what she did care about was how the beast found her so little threat that it didn't even bother to attack her.

'That bastard is looking down on me!' she thought bitterly, bringing forth her keys. She ran to face the creature head on and began to recite the summoning spell.

"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and-"

Lucy did not get the opportunity to finish her spell as she was hit by the serpent's tail, sending her halfway across the clearing. The celestial spirit mage had inadvertently gotten directly in the snake's target zone that it had meant for injuring Natsu and in the creature's excitement, it did not notice her.

The second she hit the ground, Lucy heard a dreadful scream. She looked up to see the monster thrash about wildly. Its body convulsed from some unknown cause and it cried out in intense agony. Lucy could feel the fear swell up inside of her. She was afraid, afraid of whatever plague could hurt this monster when even Natsu could not. But she bit back her fear when she saw a flash of pink being thrown up into the air as a result of the snake's violent thrashing. She pushed her legs, running towards the disoriented dragon-slayer. He was still sick from his previous bout with the snake and could not do a thing to impede his fall.

"Natsu!" Lucy called running to the spot where he would fall. She held out her hands, ready to catch him, not quite factoring in just how fast the pink-haired boy was falling.

WHAM!

Lucy felt like she had been hit by a bus. Fighting against the heavy object that lay on top of her, she managed to move her arm to rub head. It took her a moment to process the situation, realizing the hefty weight pinning her to the ground was her none other than her best friend and partner, Natsu.

"Get off of me Natsu! You're crushing me to death!" she yelled, failing her limbs about wildly. She felt like a turtle that had been flipped onto its back and was desperately trying to right itself. Finally, she managed enough strength to toss the dragon-slayer off of her and took a deep breath, reveling in her newfound freedom.

Turning over to face Natsu, with her limited strength that she had only been able to flip him off of her, she noticed he was just recovering from his transportation issue. She felt sorry at first, but then, remembering as to just what had made him feel nauseous in first place, she grew slightly irritated.

'Really, who considers a giant snake transportation?' she mused to herself. 'Ah! That's right! The snake!'

Lucy sat up and looked at the fallen creature. Instantly, she knew it was dead.

'Just what the hell happened?' Lucy thought bewildered. The blonde mage pushed herself to her feet and approached the creature tentatively, stretching out a hand in front of her. Her fingers lingered just above the cool and slick skin and she could feel the electricity pace through her body as her digits hovered over the serpent's body. She could feel her heart beat faster and heard the slight suck of air she breathed in before she lowered her hand to touch the lifeless body in front of her. Lucy felt as if she was merely a spectator to the whole event, that she no longer had control over her body and was forced to watch herself from a distance. The instant her fingers touched the olive skin of the monster, the forest and everything else around her disappeared to blackness. Her mind became flooded with an image of a person's face. The man's features were cast entirely in shadows, all except for his unsettling grin and the trimmed goatee below it. Lucy instantly recoiled and retracted her touch. To her relief, the second her fingers lifted off of the serpent, the image disappeared and she was brought back to her senses. But she could feel her legs wobble beneath her and felt as if her very life force had been sucked out of her.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled, running to her side, catching her before she could fall down. The entire incident occurred only over a matter of seconds, but even so, it seemed to have drained all the energy out of her.

"Luce, are you ok?" he asked, deeply concerned. Lucy could read the emotion riddled through his face and was touched by his worry. The stellar spirit mage took a few more deep breaths before she answered him.

"Yes, Natsu. I'm fine. I just…I don't know really, but I'm fine now," she told him, pulling herself free from his grip to stand on her own and stare at the snake. She glanced down to her fingertips. They seemed perfectly normal. There was no lingering trace of magic or anything.

'What was that?' she mused.

"Hey! What are you guys doing? Is that snake dead or not?" Haru called out from his relatively safe location across the field. He had fashioned himself a club somehow. Lucy figured it must have been a crude instrument created from whatever was close to him.

'Ah! Haru! I forgot all about him!' Lucy scolded herself, turning her attention to him.

"Yeah, it's dead," she answered ruefully, feeling some apathy for the painful death the monster endured and beginning to walk towards Haru. Even if it was trying to eat them, it seemed to have suffered a far more terrible end than she could have imagined.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked once she got close enough to the child.

"Fine. Toshi seems to be feeling better too!" Haru added gleefully. Toshi did seem to be much better. Sometime during their fight, the canine had woken up and licking his injured leg. Lucy knelt down next to the dog and delicately took the wounded limb in her hand. The dog grimaced but let her examine the injury.

"Hmmm, I think he broke his leg. He'll need to see a vet," Lucy determined.

"Hey, Natsu!" Lucy called out, turning around to face the oddly quiet dragon-slayer. She realized why when she saw him. The dragon-slayer was poking the dead snake incessantly, materializing from one spot to the other.

"JUST WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" She screamed. Natsu stopped and looked at her blankly.

"Well, when you touched it, you got all weird. I just wanted to see what the big deal was," he answered nonchalantly.

"Baka," Lucy deadpanned. "Now, if you're through," Lucy told him, her tone informing him that he had better be through with what he was doing, "I'm going to need you to carry Toshi so we can get out of here."

"Fine. Whatever," He grumbled, walking over to them.

"You're ok to walk, right, Haru?" Lucy asked, standing up and holding out a hand.

"Yeah," He nodded, taking her hand.

"GGGRRRRRRRRR!" a low growled erupted from next to them. Both Haru and Lucy turned around to see Toshi face off with Natsu.

"Toshi. It's ok. He's a friend," Haru comforted him, but Toshi ignored him. His eyes remained set on Natsu and even with the dog's injured leg, it managed to give off a menacing aura while standing on its three good limbs.

"Come on. It's ok. I won't hurt you," Natsu reassured, extending a hand towards the canine.

"Natsu, I don't think-" Lucy was caught off by the dragon-slayer's scream. Natsu ran around the field like a madman waving his arm in the air with Toshi still attached.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Natsu hollered.

"That's weird. Toshi usually likes people," Haru mused aloud.

"Oh, don't worry about him. I just think Toshi sensed that Natsu is a cat person," Lucy answered before jogging off to help Natsu free his hand.

* * *

"Thank you both so much, for helping me find Toshi," Haru said, bowing in respect to his new friends. Thanks to Natsu, they had found the road once more and were ready to part ways.

"Don't worry about it. Just make sure you take him to a vet as soon as you get home. I honestly can't believe that he is walking on his own right now," Lucy commented.

"Yep! That's Toshi! He's super strong!"

"Arf!" Toshi answered happily, standing tall. Lucy could swear that the dog was trying to show off for her.

"Hmph," Natsu snorted. He was still holding a grudge against the canine. Toshi glanced at the dragon-slayer, growling. Immediately, Natsu ran a few yards down the road until his figure was approximately the size of an ant. Lucy giggled at his antics and gave Toshi a pat on the head and then turned to face Haru.

"Now, just because your parents are busy taking care of your baby sister doesn't mean that they don't love you. I'm sure that they are worried to death right now. So next time, when you feel neglected, don't run away from home."

"Ergh! How did you know I ran away from home?"

"Come now, did you really think that I was stupid enough to believe that you camped out here for two days just to find Toshi? Even if you did truly care for him, any other person would have gotten their parents to help them look or put up a flyer, but I didn't see any flyers when I was in Danerac," Lucy told him.

"Hmph. It's just not fair. Mom, Dad, and I were perfectly happy when it was only the three of us, so why did she have to come along? I never wanted a little sister anyway," He pouted.

"Haru, just because your parents are busy with your sister doesn't mean that they love you any less. And trust me on this; your sister's addition will only bring more joy to you and your parents' lives. Just give her a chance."

"Fine; I suppose I owe you one for saving me and Toshi back there, so I'll give her a chance. You know, luckily for you, I don't think that all that blonde has leached into your brain quite yet," Haru answered, sticking his tongue out at her as he took off down the road. Toshi followed him, managing to keep pace with the young boy, despite only using three legs.

"Why, you little brat!" Lucy yelled after him, bringing up a threatening fist. She really hated that blonde stereotype crap.

"Pshht," she sighed, turning around and heading to where Natsu was waiting for her. The sun had risen in the sky and Lucy's shrinking shadow told her that afternoon was fast approaching.

"What a busy morning this has been," Lucy said aloud.

"Yeah. What were you doing anyway?" Natsu asked.

"Oh. I just had a bad dream and decided to go on a walk, but you know what? I can't really remember it anymore. I think that it had something to do with the name 'Ophiuchus' though," Lucy contemplated.

"Oh, well. I guess it's nothing important!" The blonde exclaimed, pulling up one arm above her head into a stretch.

"You're so weird, Luce."

"Eh? Just what did I do that was weird?" Lucy spat back, agitated that he always called her weird. But Natsu ignored her comment, opting to practice his whistling skills instead. The stellar spirit mage bit back her urge to give the dragon slayer a well-deserved lump on the head and decided to ask him a question instead.

"So why are _you_ out here Natsu?" She spat, still mad at the pink-haired mage.

Natsu turned to look at her with an incredulous expression, "To find you, of course! Why else would I be here?"

Lucy could feel her anger dissipating and a slow blush creep onto her cheeks from his very open admission. It may not have been a very romantic statement, but Lucy felt flushed nonetheless.

"And it's a good thing I did, too! You would have been snake food by now if I hadn't."

"Whatever," Lucy huffed, her previous embarrassing thoughts dissipating. Really, why did she get so flushed in the first place? Natsu was just being typical Natsu and would have come charging after any one of his nakama, not just her.

* * *

"Oi, look who's back!" Gray said aloud, nodding his head towards the road. Erza smirked as she turned to see the dragon-slayer and stellar spirit mage walking happily down the road. The pair seemed to be engrossed in a humorous conversation judging by the way Lucy was laughing.

"LLLUUUUUUCCCYYYY!" Aoi cried, running to the Stellar Spirit mage, throwing out his arms and tackling her with his hug.

"Hey, Aoi," Lucy answered, supporting herself with one arm and ruffling the young person's teal hair with the other.

"I was so worried!" she cried, snuggling into her chest. Lucy laughed at Aoi's antics and pushed herself off the ground while maintaining Aoi's embrace.

"I'm sorry; I just went on a little walk, is all."

"Come on, you two," Erza said, walking up to Lucy and Aoi and pulling the two apart. "It's nearly eleven; we need to get moving." Despite that she was speaking to both of them, Erza's gaze fell on Aoi. The child, in turn, boldly stared back.

"Ok, Erza," Aoi answered happily, "Let's get to the chariot, Lucy!" Aoi finished, taking Lucy's hand and dragging her off to the cart. Erza's eyes narrowed as she watched the two approach the chariot where Gray was currently loading up the luggage.

"Oi, Erza. What's the matter?" Natsu asked, looking between her and the subjects of her glare. "Are you mad at Lucy for wandering off or something? She has a reason, you know."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, she said that she had a bad dream or something."

"A bad dream?" Erza questioned skeptically.

"Yeah, she said she couldn't remember much about it anymore aside from that it had something to do ostriches or something," Natsu replied, horribly misquoting the blonde.

"Ostriches? As in the bird?"

"Something like that. Don't ask me why she was dreaming about ostriches though. You know how weird Lucy is," He answered, walking off to join the group, leaving Erza alone with her thoughts.

'Ostriches?' she thought again. She couldn't possibly fathom as to how ostriches could make someone have seemingly reoccurring nightmares. Something was very wrong. Erza could feel it in her bones.

"Erza, come on! Ash Brain here is too afraid to get in the chariot!" Gray hollered, forcing Erza to come back to reality.

"Oi! I'm not afraid of anything, Snowflake!"

"Snowflake? Why don't you get up here and say it to my face?" Gray taunted.

"Fine! I will!" Natsu shouted back, leaping into the vehicle and falling straight into Gray's trap.

"I'm gonna kill-" was all Natsu was able to spit out before collapsing to the floor, his face taking on a greenish hue.

"Jeez! You really _have_ melted your brain, haven't you?" Gray mocked.

"UMURGSH," was all Natsu could bite out.

"Alright, is everything packed, Gray?" Erza asked, bounding up to the step ladder leading onto the chariot.

"Yep. Everything has been taken care of," Gray answered, an eager smirk on his face. He was ready to get moving and reach Suh Cuihpo. Erza gave him an approving nod and took a seat.

"Alright then, here we go!" Aoi yelled, bringing the vehicle to life. The group was on their way. Only more day of traveling and they would reach their destination…all according to plan.

* * *

**Perhaps what I am most eager to learn about from you guys is what you thought of the fight scene. Was it too short, too long, too confusing?**

**Now for the question, from what date to what date do you need to be born in to be considered an Ophichus?**


	8. A Vision

**Honestly guys, I am really impressed with you. Some of you live, or at least claim to live (you never know with the internet), to live in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Germany, and other countries that literally did not know existed (the latter admission makes me feel like such a stupid American). Anyway, yeah, I'm just impressed that so many people who didn't grow up in a dominantly English speaking society can read my stories. :) But I love my English fans too! You guys make up my largest fan base and for that I thank you.**

**Now, after giving you guys a little praise how about spreading the love and giving me some? Please comment and review if you like this chapter. It gave me hella trouble and I want to know whether it was worth it.**

**Oh! And this chapter is dedicated to the reviewer Air. Air, you know who are. Congratulations!**

**The question for this chapter is at the bottom of the chapter and will be from now on (I think I mentioned that last time but just in case I didn't here is your heads up).**

A Vision

The train rumbled and sped forward at an inhuman pace, churning out clouds of inky smoke that could hardly be seen at the late hour. The genteel female stared out the window at the few bright diamonds that dared to peek out from the night sky. She couldn't help but wonder how something so small could create such a large mess.

'However, I suppose that that is the nature of a star,' she mused, reminding herself that the tiny flecks of light dotting the sky were in actuality large balls of burning gas. They were objects that burned with the passionate flames of life and power, reminding her of a particular fiery young blonde. After all, they were only here, in this train with this strange woman, because of the aforementioned blonde Celestial mage. Charle averted her gaze to Rhiannon, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. The woman's head slumped against the wall protruding out from the edge of the bench on which she sat. Happy slept contently, curled up in the stranger's lap, and Wendy had fallen asleep on the opposite pew next to Charle.

"I really hate this," She muttered aloud, keeping her tone low so as not to disturb anyone. She raised her paw to hold her head as she remembered just how they had ended up on this train with Rhiannon.

* * *

"Ah," Charle hissed, the world around her slowly dissipated only to be overtaken by horrifying images she wished to never see the likes of again.

Titania oddly brandished her sword, keeping it tight to her chest with only her left hand and let out a fierce battle cry while lunging towards her opponent, a figure Charle couldn't quite make out. But she could tell that Erza had been terribly injured. Her right arm hung loosely by her side and dangled about, proof that it had been dislocated from her shoulder blade. Blood seeped down the ex-quip mage's face. The white Exceed noted that whatever head wound had caused the downpour was deep. The injury continued to bleed heavily, drenching the mage's scarlet tendrils until it dripped down to the floor below, almost as if the woman's hair was literally melting and turning into bloody liquid. Suddenly, a flash of light shot through the mage, tearing through her abdomen and leaving an empty hole where it had pierced the great mage. The wound was fatal.

A new flash appeared before her. This time, she recognized the man as Gray. He was breathing heavily and looked ready to collapse at any moment. Charle noticed the improvised bandage made of ice, plugging up a rather large hole in the mage's chest. The frozen particles had been stained red from the immense loss of blood he suffered. A ridiculously large foot abruptly came into view and kicked the ice mage back several feet. He let out a death riddled cough and small drops of blood escaped his lips before he crashed into a pillar behind him. However, before Charle could see if he had survived the blow, her vision blurred and began to change.

Lucy abruptly appeared before her eyes, a trail of scarlet liquid leaking from her mouth. She stared vehemently at whoever stood before her and clutched her keys close to her side. The blonde was hunched over, and had been beaten badly. Her leg was twisted in a position that was not natural. The bone seemed to have been literally twisted from her kneecap and replaced incorrectly so that her leg was facing sideways. Charle knew the injury had to have been agonizing to endure but the blonde was pushing through the throbbing pain. The Exceed heard a deep laugh break out from somewhere within the room in which Lucy stood. The sinister chuckle sent chills up her spine. The man to whom it belonged seemed to take a sick pleasure in the celestial spirit mage's pain. The thought discomforted Charle entirely, unaware of any such being that could take such joy from so horrible a scene.

The vision seemed to be nearing its end as with each flash, the images grew shorter and shorter. The white Exceed had nary a clue as to who the person was that she saw next. A small broken form of what appeared to be a child lay deathly still on the ground. She had never met the teal-haired person before and worried that she might never get the chance if this was the youth's fate.

Finally, she saw Natsu. The usually happy-go-lucky, idiotic, and stupidly strong dragon-slayer was sobbing. His nose ran without stop and tears poured from his eyes like faucets. A body lay in his arms. A delicate, trembling and red stained hand reached up to brush the tears from his cheeks. Without warning, the hand began to glow unnaturally, and pulsated at increasing intervals. A gold light soon overtook it completely and then …it began to fade, turning into little stars as it did so.

"No!" the dragon-slayer cried just as Charle's vision turned black. The maniacal laughter she had heard when she saw Lucy filled her ears. She clutched at the furry peaks, trying to hold them down and block it out of her head but she couldn't. The evil chuckle existed in her mind and no outside force could make it stop.

"AH!" She yelled, willing herself to snap her head up and open her eyes, once again rejoining her companions and the strange woman. All eyes rested upon her but she ignored them, too caught up in her own thoughts to bother with the concerned stares cast in her direction. She panted, unused to such vivid visions. Her powers of foresight seemed to be improving but she still could not call upon it by will.

'Just what the hell is going on here?' Charle thought, sparing a quick glance towards Rhiannon. If only this had been a few months ago, the white Exceed knew that she could have disregarded the unsettling vision. Back then, her only alliance was to Wendy, but now, she was a member of Fairy Tail. The guild had proved time and again that they would do anything for their friends and without their help, the ordeal in Edolas may not have held as quite a positive outcome. And now, her guild mates were in trouble and she had to help them. But first she needed to learn what this woman knew about the situation.

"Who are you?" Charle asked, her hostility towards the stranger slowly fading now that she knew greater forces were at work. She had no time to be angry at this woman; after all, if it had not been for her arrival, Charle may have never sensed the danger waiting for their friends.

Rhiannon didn't answer at first, still intrigued over the feline's odd behavior, but a smirk adorned her face once more, "I already told you white cat, my name is Rhiannon, but now, I have a feeling that that isn't what you really wanted to ask me."

Charle let out a soft growl of disapproval. The instinctual sound was so low that even Wendy couldn't hear it, but before she could ask anymore, Rhiannon turned her attention to Happy.

"You said that your friends went on a mission that specially requested a Celestial Spirit mage, right?"

Happy nodded, tears still brimming in his eyes. He would never forgive himself if he had merrily abandoned his friends to their doom, pointedly ignoring the fact that his presence would have done little to help anyone.

"Ok, good. Do you remember where it was the request asked them to go?"

"Mmhmm," Happy answered, biting his lip to prevent himself from sobbing, "It said to go to Suh Cuihpo."

"Suh Cuihpo? I've never heard of it." Rhiannon said, closing her eyes as if the answer to her worries were written on the back of her eyelids. "Listen," she said, opening her eyes to narrow them at the cat, "this is very important. People's lives are at stake here, so I will ask you again; are you sure that the slip told them to go to a place called Suh Cuihpo?" Rhiannon questioned.

Happy nodded, "I'm sure!" he said, resolve reflect in his large coal-like eyes.

"Damn it all!" Rhiannon spat, "I finally find someone who knows something about this and all they can give me is the name of some made up town!"

"It's not made up!" Happy protested.

Rhiannon looked down at him, "Really? How are you so sure? Have you ever been there yourself, Blue One?"

"No! But the paper said that it was right next to Cancaro!" he objected further.

"Cancaro? Why, that's only one day away from here on a bullet train!" Rhiannon exclaimed, standing up and straining her neck to look towards the town's train station. Her feet yearned to run to for the station and board the next train but a voice stopped her.

"Hold on!" Charle called out, floating up to speak with the brunette face to face, "Our friends are in danger. I _saw_ it. You will tell us as much as you know."

"Tch," Rhiannon hissed, looking between the white cat and the direction of the train station. "Fine," she submitted, momentarily hanging her head low in defeat, a low train whistle making her perk her head back up. "But, it doesn't seem that we have much time, so you lot must come with me if you want to hear what I know. After we arrive in Cancaro, you can decide to whether to follow me or not. I really don't care but we must be leaving soon if we are to board on time."

* * *

"You know, Kitty, you should probably get some sleep," Rhiannon spoke, her eyes still closed. Charle jumped at her voice, certain that the brunette had previously been asleep. The mage had even managed to tame her breathing to match that of a person in a deep slumber.

"Tch. My name is Charle, not 'Kitty', and I don't need any sleep," Charle answered.

"You have a rather cold personality, you know that?"

Charle stiffened at the offhanded comment. It reminded her of how she used to be, how she used to _feel_ before coming back from Edolas. Before, she had tried to reign in her emotions so she wouldn't get hurt when she had to fulfill her "mission" and slowly she closed herself off. But after returning from her homeland, she learned the truth of the matter. She could feel herself lighten up after that, although only slightly. The Exceed no longer felt the need to be so serious all the time.

Rhiannon dared to peek open her eyes to stare at the unusually quiet cat. She scolded herself the minute she did, realizing that her last comment had touched the Exceed in a way she had not intended.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I'm just tired is all. I really didn't mean anything by it."

"Hmph, only fools and idiots take back what they said," Charle responded, her posture relaxing slightly.

Rhiannon blinked at the haughty retort the small cat had just thrown at her, but then felt a smile creep onto her lips and a giggle tickle her throat. Charle's stare softened, not expecting such giddiness to be caused by her sour remark.

"I think you may be right. Am I an idiot or a fool, I wonder? If _he_ were here, I bet he would say I was both," she chuckled, looking off into the distance somewhere. And while the trio's newest member physically sat there in the small cabin with Charle, her mind was clearly traversing through time and space taking her back to a happier time, one that Charle could not fathom.

* * *

"Oi! If you're going to get sick, don't get sick on me!" Gray shouted, trying to shove the dragon-slayer off of him. The pink-haired boy had turned into dead weight upon the chariot's takeoff and thus had become nearly impossible to move.

"Uuhhhhh," a comatose Natsu answered, a little bit of drool spilling out of his mouth and onto Gray's pants.

"GROSS!" Gray yelled, jumping up on his feet and brushing away the saliva. The ice mage did not manage to stay on his feet long however under the moving chariot's rocky motions.

"Wah!" he yelled as he toppled over right onto Natsu.

The fire-mage let out a weak cry in protest that turned into him spitting up his previous meal onto the raven-haired boy.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Gray yelled again, pushing himself away from the incapacitated dragon-slayer to see what damage the pink-haired oaf had done.

"Those two," Lucy sighed, looking back at the pair exasperatedly. The ice mage was now rigorously shaking Natsu for ruining his favorite pants, which he had miraculously been wearing at the time.

'Just like fire and ice,' she inwardly mused, but turned her attention back to Aoi. The teal-haired child was quite gleeful and exuberant now that she was behind her chariot once more. She flipped the reigns, forcing the horses to draw the cart faster. But luckily for all the vehicle's inhabitants, Aoi dared not push the chariot to the pace she had managed to take it to the previous day.

"You sure seem happy," Lucy commented. "I bet it's because you're going home huh?"

Aoi peered back at her, a smile still on her face.

"You have no idea."

"How long have you been away?" Lucy pondered.

"Longer than I wanted to be, but at least I get to use my chariot when I'm away. It's my only other joy in life," Aoi told her, looking back towards the empty path.

"What about friends?"

Aoi flinched at the word, unintentionally letting the blonde know that it was a sore topic, but the teal-haired driver said nothing more on the subject.

'How sad,' Lucy thought to herself, remembering just how lonely she had felt before she found her ragtag group of friends, her nakama, her family. Slowly, Lucy reached out a comforting hand toward the small child. She knew that words often did not convey the same emotions a simple touch could.

"Don't!" Aoi screeched, sensing her presence and bringing the chariot to a halt. The occupants rumbled about but all managed to remain in the cart this time around.

"What the hell was that about?" Gray screamed. The ice-mage was getting all too tired of this slamming on the breaks routine.

"Are we there yet?" Natsu asked hopefully, his transportation ills slowly losing their grip on him. But neither of the boys' questions were to be answered in the thick tension that filled the air.

"A-Aoi, are you ok?" Lucy asked, crawling nearer to the child once again, her arm stretched out like before.

"What part of 'Don't' do you not understand?" Aoi yelled, jumping away from her touch and landing on the hard dirt below.

"Hey! What the heck is your problem?" Natsu bellowed.

"It-It's ok Natsu, just calm down," Lucy pandered to the upset dragon-slayer. "I'm sorry Aoi," Lucy told Aoi, turning back to her, "I was just going to pat your shoulder. You just seemed so sad and-"

"Well I'm fine. I don't need your concern and don't like people touching me, ok?"

"No, it's not ok," Erza said, disembarking the vehicle to approach their small driver.

"E-Erza?" Lucy's voice shook, taking in the dangerous glint in the scarlet-haired mage's eyes.

"What?" Aoi asked, stepping away from the great Titania.

"You're hiding something, something important. I've let it go until now but I don't think I should hold back anymore."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked.

"She's right Lucy," Gray spoke up, heading towards Erza. He glanced over at Erza, who took her eyes of the teal-haired charioteer for a brief second to look at him. But as she did not stop him, he took the opportunity to continue.

"Back in Danerac! When I touched her back in Danerac I felt something weird."

"Weird?" Natsu and Lucy repeated, hearing this information for the first time.

"Yes! Weird! I can't describe it myself but something is definitely up with her!" Gray accused, pointing a finger at Aoi who was the picture of misery at the moment.

"Wait a moment!" Lucy said, running off the chariot and placing herself between Aoi and her accusers. "Aoi has done nothing wrong! So what? She doesn't like to be touched, which one of us doesn't have issues?"

"Lucy, we are talking about the same thing here! Aoi for all we know could be responsible for the deaths of all of the mages that have taken this mission!" Erza shot back, a frightening tone in her voice.

"! I HABN'T DWONE ANYBING WONG!" Aoi yelled, tears streaming down her rotund cheeks.

All four mages turned to look at the inconsolable childlike creature before them. Erza could feel her eyes soften at the sight and Gray turned his head, ashamed that he had been part of the reason for the person's tears. Lucy shot them both a glare and crouched down next to the weepy Aoi.

"Oh, Aoi. It's ok," she cooed, taking caution not to reach out and pull the poor soul before her into a soft embrace. Despite her attempts to console Aoi, the cries continued for minutes, each sob stabbing at the heart of the two mages that had brought on the watery fit.

"They didn't mean anything bad by it Aoi, I swear. They were just looking out for the group," Lucy told her.

"B-But I don't understand, what did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong Aoi. This is just a dangerous mission and they are overly suspicious because of it."

"Y-Yeah, we're sorry," Erza said between gritted teeth. Gray merely nodded at her submission.

"See, it's all ok now. So why don't we camp here for the night?" Lucy asked, still on her knees next to Aoi.

"No!"

"W-What?" Lucy stuttered at Aoi's unusually forceful objection.

"Well, it's just that I promised you guys that I could get you to Suh Cuihpo in two days. My precious machine's pride is at stake here. If I don't get you to Suh Cuihpo tonight I would forever be ashamed."

"But are you alright though? You were so upset a minute ago," the blonde said.

"No matter my emotional state, I refuse to let my chariot be bested. We will make it to Suh Cuihpo tonight," Aoi declared, standing up. Her knees wobbled after having been bent for so long but she soon found her footing.

"I don't think that that is a good idea. After all, we can't do much good for the town if it becomes too dark. No one will think less of you or your chariot," Erza said, speaking diplomatically. If she still harbored any suspicions her collected expression did not betray her.

"No. I can't stand for that. We must arrive tonight!" Aoi restated, carrying themselves up to the reigns.

"I don't-" Erza had begun to say before she was cut off.

"You coming Lucy?" Aoi asked, cocking her head at the Stellar Spirit mage a desperate and forlorn look in her amber orbs.

Lucy stared at Aoi for a moment, taking in the child's features. A strange contemplative expression crossed over her face.

"Lucy?" Aoi repeated.

"…Of course I'm coming Aoi," Lucy answered, stepping up onto the chariot herself and glancing at her friends, "aren't you guys coming along?"

"You mean I have to get back on that thing?" Natsu moaned.

Aoi giggled, "Don't worry, we'll be there soon."

"Ugh."

"Whatever," Gray said, following the miserable dragon-slayer up the stairs into the chariot. Erza took up the rear and said nothing, opting to go back to her seat in silence.

As soon as everyone had found a place to rest for the remainder of their ride, Aoi flicked the reigns the chariot took off.

* * *

**So, who's scared for the safety of our Fairy Tail mages now? Mwahahaha! No one is safe when I'm the author!**

**Also, I'm sorry that this chapter is short and took so long to make but it gave me hella issues.**

**Question: What did Hiro intend Lucy's magical power to be when he first thought of the idea of Fairy Tail?**


	9. Arrival

**Author's Notes:**

**Haha, so ummm, I****'m not dead. Yay. But yeah…sorry for the absence. I just really haven't felt like writing this in a while. I kinda feel like I've been in disguise for the past couple of months as I've been far more interested in reading FF than writing, posting, or responding. So I've been on, but just secretly in a way ya know? I think I just freak and start to feel pressured so I disappear. IDK. Anyway, I wrote this sometime ago but just had the patience and motivation (I want to write another story but would feel bad leaving this and WYDKM left unattended)**** to go through it and add the last bit. So, I also want you to know the following comments were actually written like a month ago or whenever but I think that they are still pretty accurate and whatnot so I won****'t change them. I love you all and hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Oh, my chapters are going to be infrequent too cuz this will hopefully be my last semester at college, I****'ll have to do summer school though but I should be free for all of fall if the Econ department doesn't screw me over…which they might…the b#%tards.**

**This chapter is dedicated to screamatthesky for getting the correct answer first. And, she was the first to comment in general so yay!**

**Also, I feel obliged to mention the reader, AMU who made me laugh so hard! I would have responded to your comments personally but you didn't use an account so I will do it here. However, I would like to thank you right off the bat for commenting on EVERY single chapter! Now on to the answers! Yes, I like comments, they help to tell me what I'm doing wrong so I supery-dupery appreciate them. I also rather upset at that one point because I think I had only gotten 5 comments on that one particular chapter so yeah. I was a bit touchy. Sorry, and that's to everyone. I'm glad you like my comebacks, some of them actually take time to think of. I'm also happy you liked the fight scene, that too took some time although I think that being as detailed as I was it made the entire scene seem longer than it was and yeah.**

**Alsarnia, you made me laugh quite a bit too! I liked the dialogue bit between Happy and Lucy! **

**Also, since I thanked AMU for commenting on every single chapter, I thought that I would give a shout out to everyone else who has done the same thing or near to it, so Skyelara, ShiningStellar, Ree-Vance, Fooster26, ShadedEclipse, Ice of Kitsune's Fire, Alsarnia, Kelley Splash, the Midnight Shadow Star, and my lovely Mrs. HopeEstheim!**

**Sorry but this chapter is a bit anti-climactic. The next one should be more riveting but at least they have finally reached Suh Cuihpo! The adventure begins shortly! I'm excited, are you? :)**

Chapter 9

The sun had finally set, its luminous waves having vanished beyond the horizon. However, the mages couldn't help but notice that on this evening the night was not nearly as dark as they were accustomed to. The sky was saturated with stars, the combination of light radiating off each fleck of fire casting small shadows on the ground. The light was dim, but it was there nonetheless. Lucy was the one most enamored by the scene. She had never seen so many stars in her life. She stared up in awe knowing that each and every grouping of stars belonged to a stellar spirit out elsewhere in the world at this very moment.

"Amazing," Lucy breathed out in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, we're close. The stars only shine this brightly over Suh Cuihpo," Aoi said, never bothering to take his eyes off of the road. The path had grown quite narrow by this point and Lucy couldn't help but notice that the road seemed to have been hastily made as evident of the bumpy tracks, twisting curves, and tight space.

"Wow. It sounds so incredible. I can't wait until we get there!" Lucy said, pulling her eyes off of the night sky and turning them on Aoi.

The little creature took no notice of her, just as she had done since they got back onto the chariot. The only exceptions being the occasional comment or answer to a question that she had been asked.

The blonde sighed, believing that the change in behavior was caused by her friends' previous treatment towards the small child. She glanced behind her to see that the three had fallen asleep, or at least were pretending to be asleep. Lucy didn't doubt Natsu though, since the serene expression on his face was one that he couldn't even hope to fake while on a moving vehicle. Gray and Erza were slightly more tricky; she didn't quite think that they had completely given up on the idea that Aoi was hiding a sinister agenda which made her believe they could just be merely feigning sleep.

The blonde let out a sigh. She wondered just when she had started to mistrust her friends.

'Maybe I should be more careful,' she thought to herself. After all, Erza and Gray had stood by her through thick and thin. They had saved her countless times and trusted her enough to put their lives in her somewhat capable hands. Ok, _barely_ capable hands. The fact that they continued to travel with Aoi and stopped harassing the child when she had told them to was only a further testament to the faith they placed in her judgment.

But could she be wrong? She had never even thought that Aoi could be a part of the evil plot that entangled this city but now she had forced her friends to trust in her decision and what if she had been deceived? Her head swiveled back to the teal-haired driver that preoccupied her thoughts. She could feel an odd bond between herself and the small child. Had this feeling of affinity blinded her? Had she been made ignorant of a glaringly obvious truth about Aoi's nature?

'Well, Natsu didn't sense anything either,' she tried to reason to herself but the self-posed argument fell flat as soon as she had though it up. 'Of course he didn't feel anything wrong with Aoi, he's an idiot and could never catch onto subtle hints like Erza or Gray could. …Argh! Why the hell is all of this so complicated!' she lamented internally, throwing up her hands to cradle her head and attempt to quell her racing thoughts.

'No!' she decided forcefully. 'I will not doubt Aoi anymore! It won't do us any good anyway. After all, without her, we'd be stuck walking right now. Alright! It's decided,' Lucy smiled, slapping her cheeks a bit to bat away the bad karma and thoughts flooding her mind. Instead of burdening her mind and weakening her resolve with baseless suspicions of deception, she opted to focus on the mission. It was dangerous; other mages who had taken it had died.

'I wonder why that is,' Lucy pondered. Stellar Spirits were forbidden to kill humans. After all, Loke had unintentionally let Karen be killed and was made to suffer three long years in the human realm before he was supposed to fade away and die. It just didn't make much sense to her. 'I suppose we'll figure it out when we get there," the blonde thought before letting out a sigh and looking up towards the stars once more.

* * *

"Julian! Julian!" she screamed desperately into the void. Her breathing was labored, erratic even as she willed her feet to move in front of her as small glimmers of light floated all around her. "Julian!" she yelled again into the star-ridden abyss, frantically searching all about her. The celestial objects flickered and fluttered but none gave off the light she knew and loved.

'Where is he? Where _is he!_' the panicked thought raced through her mind, igniting the fire under her feet once more. She traversed through the shrunken cosmos trying to seek his out his warmth, his radiance, his spirit. Abruptly, she came to a halt, her mind not letting her process what she was seeing. Yes, she had seen a few before as she ran and knew what it represented, what it had meant, but to preserve her own sanity if only for a few more seconds, her brain made the sight unrecognizable. The woman approached the dull and listless rock in front of her. She cupped the fragile fragment in her hands; the glowing luminance that had once enveloped the star had disappeared completely.

"Julian," she gasped, her mind unable to maintain the charade that it had created. This was his star and it was dead.

"NO! Julian!" she wailed into the night sky, cradling the star to her heart. Her tears fell freely; her racking cries pulsating through her body and permeating into the space around her. Her chest heaved wildly from her desperate sobs.

"Rhiannon, why are you here?" a familiar voice called out to the brunette.

"Ju-Julian?"

"Rhiannon, I know what you're thinking and I don't want you to. Let me rest in peace," the omnipotent voice begged.

"No! How can you even ask that of me!" she screamed into the space above her head, imagining how her sound waves would race through the space, bouncing off of the stars that littered the sky and blocked its path.

"I'm gone. You need to move on."

"No! I won't! I can't! I just can't!" she cried out before her hysterical sobs began to overtake her body and shake it vehemently. Rhiannon clutched the dead star to her chest even closer, the coarse rock bruising and scraping her skin.

"Don't go, Rhiannon, don't go," the voice called out growing softer with each word and eventually leaving only Rhiannon's cries to fill the air.

"Julian, why did you leave me? Why?" she sobbed, her surrounds beginning to fade as a small sound pricked at her senses. She ignored it at first. Her only want was to stay there, cradling his star, and wallowing in the despair that washed over her, but the childlike voice would not relent.

"Please wake up," it called.

Rhiannon pushed the voice aside but when she felt a physical tugging at her leg, her head snapped up and her eyes flew open. She could see a hint of panic on her face reflected through the concerned, brown orbs staring back at her.

"We're nearly there," another, more mature voice spoke up. The white cat made no attempt to hide her harsh and irritated tone.

"And you were having a bad dream," Wendy added, still watching Rhiannon closely.

"Aye!" Happy confirmed, popping up from behind Wendy's head.

Rhiannon blinked, taking in the room. If only for the brief of moments, she had forgotten where she was, who she was with, and why she was there.

"I see. Thank you for waking me then," she said, feeling a smile slip onto her face and a calm peace return to her.

"Are you ok?" Wendy pressed, clearly guilty of concerned curiosity.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for worrying about me."

Wendy nodded, settling back into her seat beside Charle.

'I suppose it was all just a dream,' Rhiannon thought, her eyes glancing to the black outcroppings outside the window. It had taken the train slightly more time to reach the town than she had expected, causing her to drift off. 'Or perhaps it's because I haven't had such a comfy surface to sleep on in a while,' she contemplated running a hand over the pliant fabric of the seat cushion. Even if she wasn't lying down, it was far more comfortable than the mounds of dirt and leaves that usually kept her through the night.

But no matter the explanation, Rhiannon still couldn't help but curse her weakness. She had fallen into a rather deep sleep in the presence of strangers all too easily. It had only been a few hours since they had met and banded together, even if it was only to be for a short time to learn what the other knew. Rhiannon shuddered to think of what could have happened had her temporary travel companions harbored more nefarious objectives. Her mind took in and shamefully accepted her silent scolding's nearly as soon as she had thought them up. The brunette was trying anything she could to keep her thoughts from dwelling on her latest dream, and scolding herself was the one thing she could think of. After all, had she kept up her guard and remained awake, she would have never had such a terrifying vision, but she could not preoccupy herself so long as to forget about the incident. 'Has it been so long that I can no longer picture him in my own imaginings?' she mused ruefully, recalling her nightmare. Lately, she had realized that some of his details had begun to blur and mesh into his other features but this was the first time she couldn't picture him at all.

"So?" Charle hissed, interrupting the brunette's broodings having felt that she had waited long enough to ask her questions.

"So?" Rhiannon repeated, genuinely confused.

"So, are you going to tell us what you know about all of this?"

"Oh, that. I honestly don't know much either," she sighed, attempting to force herself into a happier mood so she could better interact with her companions. She wasn't very charming when darkness enshrouded her thoughts and Rhiannon really didn't want to give the white Exceed any reason to fly over and choke her to death. The brunette truly had no trouble considering the demented image now in her mind to be a definite possibility. "But, I do know that Celestial mages have been dropping like flies, all after taking an oddly specific request requiring a Stellar Spirit mage. After I realized the pattern, I began to try and warn Celestial mages I've come into contact with."

"So that's why you asked us if we were Celestial mages," Happy perked up, nodding thoughtfully although no real contemplation was going on within the Exceed's head.

"Pretty much. I was also hoping that even if you weren't, you could tell me something about it. Luckily for me, you were," Rhiannon smiled.

"'Luckily'?" Charle mimicked, knowing that her tone made further explanation of what she was asking unnecessary.

"Yes, luckily. I haven't just been trying to warn mages but find out where they are disappearing to as well. It seems most guilds from here to D'nurr have suffered the loss of a Stellar Spirit mage and his or her team. Unfortunately, no one could remember any specifics or details about the mission...until you guys that is."

"E-Excuse, but why do you care so much?" Wendy piped up, raising a hand as if she were in school and needed to be called upon.

"There is someone I'm trying to find."

"And who is that?" Charle questioned, eyes running up and down the mage skeptically.

"You know what?" Rhiannon smiled sweetly, belittling her true feelings. The brunette could feel her despair come rushing back her at the question the white Exceed posed. She knew that Charle had not necessarily meant any harm in asking what she did but Rhiannon was desperately trying to get her mind off of_ him_ and the feline had unwittingly brought the tender subject up again. Rhiannon's temperament was usually mild at best but lately, ever since he went away and counted for dead, she had found that she was quicker to submit herself to the irrational anger welling within her, just like she was about to do. "I don't think that that is any of your business. But I do think that you should count yourself lucky that I let you come along at all!" she spat back angrily.

"'_Let us come along_'? _We _paid for _your_ train ticket!" Charle yelled back.

"So what? I would have just stowed away like I've been doing for weeks now if you hadn't! I didn't need your help!"

"Oh really? Where would you be now if Happy hadn't told you about this Suh Cuihpo place!"

"I still don't even think that it truly exists! I'm only heading to Cancaro because that's where he said that the paper told your friends the city was close to!" Rhiannon screamed back, pointing an accusatory finger at Happy who trembled under its weight.

"WELL-"

"Attention, all passengers' attention," a crackled voice announced over the PA system, interrupting Charle's comeback much to the convoy's relief, "We will reach our final destination for tonight, Danerac, in the next fifteen minutes. The Tulmec Rail Station would like to acknowledge that you have many other options in rail travel and would like to give you our thanks and appreciation for your business. For those of you who are continuing onward with us, we will begin the boarding process at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Until that time, we have a list of recommended hotels and hostels for you to spend the night at that you can pick up in the train's lobby. Once again, we would like to extend our gratitude to all of our customers for riding with us." The speaker fizzled out of life, leaving an uncomfortable silence in mage's cabin.

"I'm so-" Rhiannon mumbled incoherently.

"What?" Charle asked, her voice cutting through the air like daggers.

"I'm sorry," Rhiannon relented, letting out a deep sigh. The brunette's sudden apology took Charle a bit off guard as it did for Wendy and Happy. "I'm just…don't know what I'm doing anymore. If I don't hurry-" Rhiannon hiccupped, tears now falling down her cheeks, "If I don't hurry-"

"Tch. It's fine, just stop crying already," Charle interjected as she turned her head to look out the window. The locomotive was slowing down and the shady scenery becoming more and more defined with each passing second despite the sparse amount of light. Charle pressed herself to appear as interested in the dull cropping of trees and random house built on the outskirts of town as she could, not wanting anyone to catch the twinge of pity that had begun to bubble up within her for the brunette. She didn't want to admit to herself that had actually been moved by Rhiannon's display of emotion, let alone have it be read so clearly on her face.

"Yeah, it's gonna be ok!" Happy pandered, flying over to Rhiannon and patting her hand.

"Thanks," she sniffled, wiping away her tears.

Wendy sat perfectly still in her seat and watched the scene in complete silence, not knowing what words to say or avoid for that matter. A stagnant quiet overtook the cabin as the train rumbled to a stop in the dark, black town of Danerac. A few torches flickered faint shadows of light on the cobblestone roads and for a while, Wendy, Charle, Happy, and Rhiannon just stared out the window and watched the empty streets, mimicking the motionlessness of it all.

"Let's find a place to stay, my treat," Rhiannon sighed abruptly, interrupting the silence and standing up. Grabbing her bad from the overhead bin, she headed towards the door but stopped when she sensed no one was following. "Fine. If you guys don't want me to get you a place to stay then I won't," she finished, turning the nob.

"And how do you plan to pay for us? You didn't even have enough money to buy a train ticket?" Charle asked.

"If you come with me, you'll find out," Rhiannon answered, a beguiling smile gracing her face.

"I'll follow you anywhere!" Happy merrily piped up, raising a voluntary arm in his zeal.

"Anyone else?" Rhiannon asked, her amusement at Charle's irritated face barely concealed in her tone.

"Fine, but only because we don't have much money ourselves either," Charle grumbled, however Rhiannon knew it was for a different reason. No matter how harshly she seemed to treat the blue cat known as Happy, Charle also seemed to care for him, perhaps a bit more than any ordinary friend should. Wendy merely followed Charle's actions, still a bit nervous of Rhiannon and the notable tension the brunette stirred up between her and Charle. The tetrad made their way down the hallway, not wasting their breath on idle conversation but merely walking behind the tall mage that they had come to befriend.

"Ummm, excuse me but shouldn't we be heading toward the train's lobby?" Wendy asked, noticing as how they seemed to walking towards the nearest exit instead.

"What for?" Rhiannon asked.

"Well, didn't the announcer say that a list of hotels was in the main lobby?"

"Yes, but I have my own methods when it comes to this," the brunette answered coyly, reaching the train's door and taking a step out into the dark night.

"Hello there!"

*Door slam*

"Good Evening!"

*Door slam*

"Welcome! What can I do for you today?"

*Door slam*

"Just what is your problem!" Charle hissed out at Rhiannon's seemingly constant rejection at every hotel they walked into. She appeared to be looking for something but as to what Charle had nary a clue.

"Hmmm, let's try this one out," Rhiannon said, ignoring the Exceed's question and walking into another lodging.

Charle grumbled out a complaint that went untended to by her companions.

"G'day the'e folks," an unusually dim voice greeted them. Charle sneered at the remarkably stupid looking man at the counter who was too preoccupied with his magazine to even bother to look up at them.

"Perfect," Rhiannon whispered under breath, strutting to the front desk. "Um, my friends and I are looking for a room tonight. Do you think you could help?" the brunette asked, taking off her sugesgasa as she approached the desk. The balding man looked up from gazette, his bored expression morphing into one of elation.

"Uh-uh-uh, sure! That would be 10,000 Jewels."

"Oh! But I'm afraid that I don't have that much, can't you help me?"

"H-How much do y-you have?" he gulped.

"Honestly, I don't have anything but you wouldn't send me out, alone, into the cold, dark night would you?"

"Well-"

"Please?" the brunette pleaded manipulatively.

"Yes m'am! I'd gladly find you a room! Just follow me!" he suddenly chirped much to Wendy's, Happy's, and Charle's disbelief and walked by a private door, most likely leading to the hotel owner's home, to a flight of stairs to the right.

"Thank you so very much," Rhiannon spoke lowly, almost seductively. She trailed behind the man for a moment before turning back to faced her too stunned to move convoy. "Well, aren't you guys coming?" Rhiannon smirked before walking after the man once more, her retreating back urging them into motion.

"Here you go miss. If there's anything else I can get for you, please don't hesitate to ask," the desk man told her after he unlocked the door to their room and give her the key. He was completely enamored by now.

"Of course, thank you very much," she smiled sweetly before shutting the door and letting out a deep sigh. She really didn't care much for using that kind of magic for such tedious purposes as getting a room to stay in or a ride. She preferred to hack it and not take such advantage of people but she felt that she owed this group of mages an act of faith or display of kindness if you will and with her limited resources, this was the best way she could think of.

"What was that?" Charle hissed.

"Geez, no 'Thank you for the room!' or anything?" Rhiannon said, nearly choking on her own giggle. She was having fun with the Exceed and Charle knew it.

The white feline returned her question with a harsh glare and low growl.

"Ok, ok, relax kitty," the brunette said, throwing up her hands in mock self-defense.

"I've told you before that my name is Charle."

"Oh right, relax Charle."

"Uh, Rhiannnon, you said that you explain what you did back there?" Wendy asked, trying to soothe Charle who was growing more and more irate by the second.

"Yes, you're right. What I just used now was my Persuasion magic."

"Persuasion magic?" Wendy repeated.

"Yes, it's similar to Charm magic with the exception that it's a bit weaker. It works through direct eye-contact and rather than making anyone enamored with me, only the dim-witted or dull fall under its spell."

"Oh, is that why you kept refusing to try and get a room at all of those different hotels?" the young dragon-slayer questioned.

"Precisely. I was waiting for a man or woman slow enough for it to work. But let's keep this our little secret shall we? It's not exactly legal."

"Hehe! You're so smart and resourceful!" Happy chimed, floating into her lap.

"Ah! That's it!" Charle announced, pointing an accusatory finger at Rhiannon.

"What's it?" Wendy and Rhiannon aked.

"You! You and that damned spell! That's why Happy keeps fawning over you! He's fallen under your Persuasion spell!"

"Oh? Has he? I just thought that he was friendly," Rhiannon told her blandly.

"No! Just stupid apparently!" Charle shot back.

"Relax, I'll undo the spell on him in a second and you can get your boyfriend back."

"M-MY WHAT! Happy may be _a lot_ of things but one thing he isn't is my boyfriend! Nor is he my partner, my lover, or even friend for that matter!" Charle spat back. Rhiannon's only reaction to the Exceed's adamant denial were a few blinks before she waved a hand in front of the Exceed's face and gave his ear a painful tug.

"Yoooch!" Happy yelled, clutching onto his ear. "That hurt! You're really a mean lady!" he cried flying across the room to behind Wendy.

"There, fixed," Rhiannon said simply, falling back onto the bed.

"Happy, are you alright?" Wendy cooed to the trembling Exceed.

"So are you back to normal?" Charle said, trying her best to sneer and appear as unattached as possible, but her efforts had the adverse effect and made her look shy.

"Ch-Charle," Happy stuttered, "C-Cute."

The white Exceed blushed slightly at his comment before sulking off but not without muttering, "Idiot."

"This room is nice," Wendy said aloud, her voice ringing through the relative silence that so recently permeated the room. Happy was in the corner contemplating up various ways to make Charle reciprocate his feelings now that he was free from the spell, Charle meanwhile, sat contently in the bed adjourned to the one that Rhiannon lay on, and Wendy had been sitting next to her furry feline friend when she spoke up. And indeed, they all had to agree that the room was nice. A moderate set of oak dressers took up a large portion of the wall in front of the beds, a television set placed in cubby hole made specifically for that purpose. Four flower bulb lights hung from the walls and while they did not give off a remarkably bright luminance, it was acceptable. The walls were coated in a thin, tasteful wallpaper and the carpet was quite clean for a hotel room. Rhiannon had even dared to take off her shoes and walk on the fabric barefoot but Wendy tried to copy her, Charle expressly forbid it saying that the floors could be racked with germs no matter how well-kept the room appeared to be. The beds were comfortable enough and the sheets warm. However, the space was not overly big and bathroom sink oddly combined the room and the washroom. But even so, the room was comfortable, particularly for being free.

"Yeah, it is, for an illegally obtained room," Charle remarked.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes at the comment directed towards her and her rather unsavory charm. It wasn't like she used it all the time, nor was it is as manipulative as Charm magic. At least the majority of society didn't fall under its spell at first sight, only the stupid ones.

* * *

"We're here!" a gleeful voice chimed awaking the group!

"Huh?" Lucy yawned. She had fallen asleep staring at the constellations that lit the night sky above her and was trying to remember just what was happening. Erza cracked her eyes open and nudged Gray awake,

'At least he was really asleep…or got tired and actually ended up falling asleep,' Lucy laughed inwardly. She had already chosen to trust Aoi but it would seem that her friends had not.

Lucy turned her attention away from her friends and onto the approaching village. The Stellar Spirit mage couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment when the town didn't appear overly special. In fact, it seemed rather rustic. All of the buildings, which seemed to be oddly vast in number in Lucy's opinion, were made out of wood and were rather simply designed log cabins. And even despite the late hour, a few people still wandered in the streets. There was no great contrast between young and old and each and every person they passed as they made their way through the dirt strip of a road was the picture of health and vigor. However, their lazed movements seemed to belie the certain or specific destinations they had for none stopped to talk idly to the other; but at such a late hour, it was understandable that they were most likely making an exhausted trip home and too tired to exchange pleasantries with friends.

"Alright, here we are," Aoi told them as they pulled up to a large house just on the outskirts of the main road.

"Dumbass, wake up!" Gray said, punching Natsu in the arm and jolting the dragon-slayer awake.

"WATCH IT FREEZER FART!" Natsu yelled out, only to given a loud, group 'shhhh' in return.

"It's still nighttime Natsu! People are sleeping!" Lucy hissed between her teeth.

"Wait! Does that mean that were here? WOOHOO! LAND! LAN-UFFFFF!" Natsu groaned before slumping to ground after Erza's iron fist had contacted his head.

Lucy couldn't help but feel some pity for him. Just after he had hopped off the cart and found himself on solid land, his natural element aside from fire, he had been rendered incapacitated by one of his teammates no less. Even if he was acting like an annoying idiot, it seemed a bit cruel to the blonde.

"We don't want to make a bad impression here," Erza rationalized to the nearly unconscious dragon-slayer.

"Oi, look at that!" Gray said, and although his voice was no louder than the average speaking level it seemed to reverberate throughout the street.

Lucy's first thought was to shush him as she had shushed Natsu but when her head turned in the direction the ice-mage was pointing, she let out a low gasp. A tall, large obstruction his just behind the building that Aoi had led them too and the Celestial mage was left wondering as to how she had missed the enormous mountain before.

"Is that-"

"Yes, that's the sacred mountain," Aoi said, answering Lucy's unspoken question. "But I think we should rest for the night. It's been a long journey and I'm quite tired," the teal-haired creature told them, before letting out a long yawn.

"Yes, that's agreeable," Erza admitted.

"So where are we gonna be put up for the night?" Gray asked.

"You'll sleep here at the inn. The owner owes me a favor so you shouldn't have to pay for a thing, not that he would charge you guys anyway knowing that you were coming here to answer our request," Aoi smiled, leading them into the lodging.


	10. And the Cracks Begin to Show Preview

**Hey guys, so I'm still alive. Things, well they still super suck, mostly for monetary reasons and while that so much doesn't concern you guys, this latter part does. You see, my computer is well, busted. I know, it's crap considering I got it at the end of September but that's almost kind of good news because that means it's covered under the manufacturer's warranty so it shall be fixed for free. Bad news, I'm computer-less for anywhere to 2 3 weeks. So yeah, no updates for a while but I'll try to work on the story without my computer and hopefully that will turn out well. Therefore, consider the following a special preview for all of you awesome people who read this story! Oh! And quick disclaimer, I reserve the right to alter any of the below information and dialogue. I doubt I'll do it, but it's more for if I find a grammar error etc.**

* * *

And the Cracks Begin to Show

A gurgled sound choked its way throughout the empty caverns of rock, slowly becoming more defined and recognizable as a deranged form of laughter upon venturing further into the cliff. The hollow, wicked sound reverberated off the cave walls and filled the mountain with the noise of an evil rumbling that could deafen. Torches mounted on the walls cast ominous shadows as if hiding a great evil in the blackness. Only scratches and cracks decorating the cavern were illuminated, giving the impression the mountain itself was just as disturbed as the voice that consumed it. The cave stretched on, pausing to conjoin at a singular main junction before the pathway split; some delved further into the rock and others tunneled down, but only one spiraled up into the heart of the massive peak. Stairs began to form at the half length of hall, making it easier to ascend the mountain. Upon the top, a landing had been formed which proceeded to lead into a large room. Despite the chamber's massive size, or perhaps because of it, the room appeared to be separated into twelve sections, designated through lines drawn across the floor to matching corners on the wall. In the middle of the space sat an over-sized do-decagon, connecting the lines with foreign scribbles and writing. On the north face of the cavity, resting on elevated platforms resided twelve glass capsules, two of which were occupied. The bodies stood motionless in their prisons, eyes shut from the world just as their physical beings had been trapped. Only the man laughing maniacally provided the room with any trace of life.

"Come soon my dear little Lucy, mommy's waiting for you after all," the voice cackled with malicious mirth. Acidic olive eyes rolled back into the man's head as a noxious cackle rippled from his throat with such passion his head was flung backwards, threatening his balance. Long ebony tresses, snarled and ratted danced a sickly rhythm just above the floor, swaying erratically at each chuckle and shake of the head. Dirt shone out proudly against the man's ghastly pale skin and covered the tattered bit and pieces of the cloth that made him decent.

"Opic-Brother, I've just been informed the celestial mage and her comrades have arrived," a new voice interrupted, halting the crazed laughter. The clicking heels of centaur usually announced his presence long before he would need to announce it, but the man's laughter had prevented him from hearing the resounding clacks.

"What other reason for such mirth would I have if I was not already well aware of this fact?"

"Pardon my intrusion Brother. I meant no disrespect."

The olive eyed man waved a hand dismissively, earning a quiet albeit relieved sigh from the latter.

"It is of no large matter. Do not fret, Toliman. It is better to be warned twice than not at all. Besides, we are all family now and how could I be a proper elder brother if I let such a petty quarrel come between us."

"I am glad Brother sees it that way," Toliman answered, his back hoof stomping slightly on the firm ground, steadying his stance.

"What can I do for you?" the man asked, his voice sounding sour and sweet simultaneously.

"Um…," Toliman stammered, the nauseous, unsure feeling he occasionally felt when around his leader surfacing, "I was curious as to what you should have us do. Shall we fetch the girl? Charioteer seems to be having diff-"

"No. I have already devised a method that shall bring her to us of her volition. There shall be no need for force so prematurely."

"Yes, Brother. If there is nothing more Brother wishes from me, I will take my leave."

"No, you may go Toliman."

"As you wish Brother," Toliman answered, granting the man with a quick bow before leaving. This time, his hoof beats could easily be heard leaving the room in the silence the followed his absence.

"Worthless imbeciles," the man muttered under his breath, staring vehemently at the exit Toliman had just taken. The man lingered there like that for a time, before he abruptly whipped around to face his two captives.

"With this I shall end it and then," the man paused, turning round to leave the chamber himself, "then, I will finally find my peace," Ophiuchus whispered, trudging down into the dark hallway, his figure soon consumed in blackness.

* * *

**…I think my writings improved…What do you guys think? Also, my computer goes bye bye at 6 today. SO SAD! T.T Comment on what you think of this little preview. Sorry it isn't longer but this actually took a few days, although I think that's because I like writing at night and when alone, which doesn't happen much at home except for the wee hours of the morning like now, at 5 a.m. (I'm so tired but I can't go to bed or I won't wake up at a decent time T.T) So yeah, back to the story. I bet you all thought it was Ophiuchus right away. I hope you like his description. If you want to see a picture of him the wonderful Mrs. HopeEstheim drew one for me and you can see it on my profile. The one on the left is sane Oppie and the right is evil/insane Oppie. K, well ta-ta for now. Luvs ya!**


	11. Cracks

Ophichuis

And the Cracks Begin to Show

Black. That was all Lucy saw, a sea of black. She couldn't make out top from bottom and only barely managed to process she was able to stand in the empty void. Her mind felt numb and dull, as if it wasn't completely her own at the moment. But the fog in her mind was rapidly lifting and cleared completely when a voice cried out to her.

"Lucy dear. What are you doing here?" a warm voice chided from the black expanse.

Lucy felt as if she had been placed on a swivel as she forcefully spun on her heel, searching out its owner. The voice was hauntingly familiar.

"Momma?" Lucy prosed to the abyss, a hopeful twinge in her tone. Wildly, she whipped her head back and forth, seeking out the one person she never thought she'd see again lest it be in her dreams. But such nighttime visions were few and far between and more often than not, were simple echoes of old memories, never differentiating from the events of the past. They were no different than a recording placed on continuous loop…except this one.

"I'm right here darling," the voice cooed from behind her. Lucy snapped her head back, her body following after, finding herself in an old, familiar space. Rather than the dark void that she had been in, she saw the old Heartphilia study, complete with the high standing windows and rows upon rows of books that Lucy had once thought never ended. However, all of those details were forgotten or unnoticed as lost herself in the chocolate eyes boring into her.

"Lucy," Layla smiled gently, drawing her arms wide to welcome the younger blonde into her embrace.

"Momma!" Lucy cried, her mind reeling far too much to realize her legs had begun to move on their own and rush towards her mother. With a final push, Lucy launched herself from the ground and into her mother's arms. The embrace was just as warm and comforting as she remembered it. The soft, silk fabric of her mother's dress caressed her cheek as she snuggled closer to her mother, never wanting to let go.

"My goodness. Lucy, you sure seem affectionate today," her mother giggled at the younger's antics, running a hand through her daughter's golden tresses.

"I've missed you is all," Lucy answered, her voice muffled by her mother's dress.

"I've missed you as well, my little Lucy. Always- I've always wanted to come back to you," Layla choked, emotions rife through her voice.

"Come back? Where have you been?" the child asked, loosening the embrace to look up at her mother.

"I've been trapped. Here, on Mt. Suh Cuihpo."

"What?"

"Yes, the night I left you I went on a mission. I'm sorry Lucy. I'm so sorry. I wasn't strong enough and-" the older woman paused as her chest began to heave in silent sobs.

"All this time…" Lucy mumbled, looking away from her mother's face either to spare the elder from having to have someone watch them as they cried or so that she herself wouldn't have to see her mother broken down in such despair.

"I'm sorry Lucy. I'm so sorry."

Lucy looked up at her mother, her cheeks glistening with tears. The blonde could feel her heart swell at how desperate and pitiful her mother looked. Layla was craving her daughter's approval and forgiveness and Lucy could sense that a false word or misstep would plunge the older woman into an incorrigible heartache.

"Mom, it's ok," Lucy hushed, barely noticing the roles between mother and daughter switching so that she was the one providing warmth and comfort. "I can save you. I will save you. My friends and I, we're here for that reason. To save everyone, so please don't cry."

"L-Lucy, my brave little girl," Layla cried, engulfing her child in a hug once more.

"It's going to be alright. Don't cry," Lucy cooed, coddling her mother closer, "I've joined an amazing guild called Fairy Tail and with the help of my friends, there isn't anything I can't do."

"Yes, Lucy," Layla answered, her voice gaining strength and conviction, "I'll be waiting for you my precious little girl. My prison is on the top floor. I'm sorry darling, but I don't have much magic left to maintain this connection. I've got to go, so just promise me to be careful." Layla pulled away from her daughter so she could cup the delicate heart shaped face and stare into her daughter's matching russet eyes.

"I promise," Lucy answered, pushing herself out of her mother's loving hold.

"Goodbye Lucy," Layla whispered as their surroundings began to distort and meld into a dark nothingness.

"Wait! Momma!" Lucy cried out into the abyss, her voice drowned out in the vast consuming blackness. "Mommy!" she repeated, a sense of fear taking root within her as the darkness seemed to close around her. "Momma!"

"Lucy! Wake up!"

"EEEP!" The blonde started from her sleep, fists flying in front of her. Her fight-or-flight response had been activated after being roused so suddenly but the reaction just as quickly ebbed away when her knuckles struck something that felt akin to a brick wall.

"OWWW!" the two voices cried out in unison, Lucy nursing her now throbbing hand and Natsu his nose.

"What the hell did I do to deserve that?!" Natsu hollered in a nasally voice. His hands held pressure against his nose in attempt to stifle any bleeding the attack may have instigated but the gesture had the unfortunate, albeit mildly humorous, side-effect of altering the dragon-slayer's typically low and masculine voice to sound like a congested comic book nerd with asthma. Lucy fought back the laugh her imagination inspired after conjuring up an image of Natsu garbed in high-waist pants, complete with suspenders, a white, long-sleeved button down shirt, a bow tie, and ridiculous glasses, but the pain in her knuckles greatly outweighed any amusement she had derived from the notion.

"You broke my hand, for one!" Lucy shot back, glaring at Natsu.

"You broke it on my face!"

"Yeah, and it's an improvement if you ask me," Gray interjected, poking fun at the dragon-slayer's swelling nose.

"Oh yeah? How about I give you a matching welt?" Natsu roared, lunging at Gray resulting in the ensuing brawl.

"What are they doing?" a small voice asked, startling Lucy. The celestial mage had been sufficiently distracted by her teammates' tussle, thus causing her to fail to notice the short child's appearance.

"Being idiots," she commented dryly.

"Should we stop them?"

"No, let's just wait for-"

"NATSU! GRAY!" a shrill voice cried out.

"Erza," Lucy finished, a tired sigh working its way to her lips despite the fact that she had just woken up.

Both men blanched at the stern voice, their actions slowing to a halt.

"What's going on here?"

"N-Nothing, Erza," Natsu stuttered, smiling nervously.

"Y-Yeah, nothing. What he said." Gray followed, a nervous laugh dancing at the tip of his throat.

"It looked as if you two were fighting again," Erza retorted coolly, eyeing both mages down.

"N-N-Nah. Of course not, Erza."

"We-we we're just having a friendly brawl," Gray answered.

"Y-Yeah. Nothing sews the seeds of friendship like a few good cuts and bruises!" Natsu added, throwing a fake punch at Gray's arm, albeit judging from Gray's facial reaction, the hit was harder than necessary.

"Hmmm, I suppose you're right," Erza nodded, a small, content smile on adorning her features. "Spilling blood with comrades does strengthen one's bonds."

Natsu and Gray sighed in relief, believing they had narrowly avoided having their heads cracked together.

"Suppose, then, that I join you and we may grow strong together," Erza smiled wickedly, exquipping to her battle armor.

"W-Wha- Ah no! Erza!" both mages cried out in unison but were struck regardless their protests until both lay battered and bruised on the floor.

"Lucy? Would you care to strengthen your bonds with us?" Erza asked politely, disregarding that she was now aiming a blade at her best friend.

The blonde paled, before stuttering a 'no' and something about not feeling well.

"Eh? You sick or something Luce?" Natsu perked up and somehow apparating beside her to place a hand on her head.

'Hot! His hand is so hot!' Lucy's mind panicked at the sudden increase in proximity. However, in a matter of minutes, she managed to gain her composure and knock the dragon-slayer aside…well, into the wall, truthfully.

"I'm fine, just-just hungry is all," Lucy fibbed. She had only told Erza she wasn't feeling well because she didn't feel like being beat to a pulp at the moment, thank you very much.

"If that's the case, I've had breakfast prepared for us," Aoi smiled happily.

"Thank you Aoi," Lucy smiled cheerfully.

"It was my pleasure," the child purred, making Gray shiver. The young charioteer seemed all too happy for Gray's liking but…it's not like being happy was a crime, either.

'I'll just have to bear with it for now,' Gray thought ruefully, throwing Erza a meaningful side look. The scarlet haired mage caught his gaze and after a brief pause, nodded her head in understanding. They had to stay on high alert.

The duo had already scouted out the building and the nearby shops and streets earlier this morning while Lucy slept. Normally they would have roused her but considering the nature of the mission they decided that she should be allowed to rest as long as possible. And perhaps that it was for the best as they found nothing of interest or any inherent threats while on patrol. Most everything seemed rather normal for the town, the exception being the incredibly sparse amount of people they happened to see wandering about the streets. With so many homes, it seemed odd that there were so few residents despite the early hour.

"Whoa! Happy is sure gonna be sad he missed out on this!" Natsu yipped in glee, running over to the fully stocked dining table. Lucy and the others stopped and stared in amazement at the vast array of food that had been laid in wait for them: eggs, bacon, waffles, toast, fish, steak, fruits, vegetables, and so much more.

"I-is this really for us?" Lucy asked nervously, chocolate eyes flickering away from Natsu, who was already trying to cram an entire rack of meat down his gullet, to Aoi.

"Yes, of course. You're our saviors, remember?"

"B-But this is just too much."

"What are you saying Lucy!? This is amazing!" Natsu cried out, jumping onto the table to gain better access to the bounty the furniture had to offer.

"Oi! Leave some for the rest of us flame brain!" Gray bit, rushing to the table and grabbing a chicken leg and taking a large bite out of it. Natsu glared down at him, a look Gray willing returned. During the silent exchange a challenge had been issued and both parties seemed to accept by what they did next.

Natsu lunged at the chicken, prying loose the other leg of the fowl. In the blink of an eye he crammed the piece of poultry into his mouth and pulled out a pristine, white bone a moment later. Gray growled and reached for a lobster claw, cracking its shell with his bare hands before sucking the meat free. The dragon-slayer answered his actions with an irritated glower. Gray smirked victoriously between bites but Natsu was not to be outdone. Seeing a tray of nuts in the middle of the table, he grabbed a fistful, roasting them in his hands before tossing them in his mouth, creating deafening crunches as he munched upon the nuts and their blackened shells. The battle raged on, each mage desperately trying to outdo the other. It wasn't until an innocent bowl of porridge became caught in the cross fire that their feud was brought to an end.

The thick, sticky substance flew everywhere, coating all persons in the room and if it had not been for the overwhelmingly evil aura permeating into the room the boys more likely than not would have continued the competition.

"That's enough," Lucy commanded, her words sounding poisonous to the ear and her petite frame quaking in anger fearsome to behold. Natsu and Gray eagerly complied, slinking back into the respective seats and opting to finish their meals like civilized people…well, Fairy Tail civilized at least. Lucy bit back her rage, cleaning out her hair before turning to look at Aoi. The poor youth was completely drenched with porridge. "Oh, Aoi. I'm so sorry. You're completely caked in the stuff," she fretted, handing him a cloth to clean himself with. "Aoi?" Lucy questioned when he didn't respond.

"Are you alright?" Erza asked from across the table. She had been watching the pair in silence, calculating Aoi's every move and trying to solve the riddle this town posed at the same time.

Aoi looked up at the scarlet mage, startling her with the fire raging in his amber orbs but the passion seemed to die almost immediately and Erza couldn't help but wonder if she had completely imagined it when his lips quirked upwards into a bright smile.

"Yes. I'm fine. Thank you Lucy," he beamed and took the cloth from the stellar spirit mage.

"No don't thank me. It's because of those two idiots this even happened."

"Hey!" Natsu and Gray cried out, displeased that they had been called idiots.

"Just look at what you did. There's porridge everywhere. You're just lucky no one else was here," Lucy growled.

Natsu shrunk down into his chair upon the blonde's accusatory glare and words. However, Lucy's comment had the opposite effect on Gray. The ice mage perked up at her words, ignoring her admonition and instead, recalling his concern regarding the lack of people earlier today. He had wanted to question the young charioteer but forgot to do so after getting into that brawl with Natsu. But before he could finally voice his questions, Erza's smooth voice broke into the air.

"Yes, I am rather curious about that myself."

"W-What?" Aoi stammered.

"We haven't really seen or met anyone here, not to mention I have yet to see any staff or patrons as of yet."

Aoi dipped his head low, sucking in a deep breath but before he could answer Gray decided it was time he voice his questions as well.

"Yeah, and there are so many houses too. Just where is everyone?"

"Gray! Erza!" Lucy cried out, upset they had begun to pick on little Aoi yet again.

"No, Lucy. It's ok," Aoi interrupted, looking upon the mages with great joy. A low chuckle split his lips and seemed to freeze the air itself. "Your questions will all be answered in due time, you have my word," Aoi announced, placing a hand against his heart, "But first, you must answer my question first. 'Quid pro quo'. Agreed?

Erza and Gray nodded but Lucy cast her eyes around the room, a tad nervous at the atmosphere permeating the air, and Natsu sat there staring blankly at all parties involved.

"Wonderful. Now my question for you for is…Did you enjoy your meal?" Aoi chirped merrily.

"W-Wha?" Gray stammered, the seemingly unimportant and ludicrous question catching him off guard.

"Well, did you?"

"I found it enjoyable, yes," Erza answered slowly, suspicious of where the conversation was headed. Typically, such a question would be considered mundane and simple but it was so very out of context that Erza felt herself become on guard and wary.

"Yeah! It was wonderful, man!" Natsu exclaimed, patting his bloated stomach.

"I liked it," Gray murmured.

"It was delicious, Aoi. Thank you for going through all the trouble to prepare it for us," Lucy answered, emphasizing the thanks to remind the child's accusers of just one of the kind acts he had done for them.

"That's great!" Aoi smiled. "I'm glad you all could enjoy your last meal."

"Last meal?" Gray asked, the first to notice the ominous words.

"Yes, silly," Aoi smirked, throwing up a hand towards the ice mage. Wheels sprouted from the mage's feet and sent him flying backwards into the wall.

"Gray!" Lucy shouted. She made to move towards him but was held back by the teal-haired child, an evil smirk adorning his adolescent features. And Lucy was moderately grateful when she watched Erza run to Gray's side.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this," Aoi brimmed with glee, his grip on the celestial mage's arm tightening painfully.

"Aoi, you're hurting me," Lucy whined, trying to pry herself free from his grip.

"Let go of her, you bastard!" Natsu roared, charging towards the imp. Aoi chuckled at the preemptive strike.

"Foolish human. You have no power here," he announced, sending Natsu into a wall just as he had Gray.

"Natsu," Lucy whimpered.

"None of you do," Aoi finished, turning to smile at Lucy.

Lucy could feel a slight panic overcome her as she desperately tried to reach for a connection with her stellar spirits. However, she could find nothing except a black void.

'When did this happen?' she thought frantically to herself.

"Your power is useless now. Unless Ophiuchus wishes for you to release your powers, you're helpless," Aoi told her, as if he could read her thoughts.

'Why is that name familiar?' Lucy thought, panic slowly setting in.

"Just what the hell is going on?" Natsu spat.

"The final plan, and believe me—you do not know just how long I have waited for this moment," Aoi answered, all too enthusiastic.

"So you are a bad guy," Gray spat, leaning slightly on Erza for support.

"Yes, you were a rather perceptive lot. But it no longer matters because you have fallen right into our trap. My master has big plans for all of you, particularly you, Lucy." Aoi said, smiling far too brightly considering the topic.

"We never should have trusted you," Erza glared, exquipping her armor.

"Oh," Aoi whined mockingly, his voice feigning hurt, "And I thought we were becoming friends. Hmph. Oh well, I have no use for stupid and weak humans like yourself." Aoi raised his hand in front of him and abruptly, the whinny of a herd of horses echoed through the room. Blue flames sprouted from nowhere, taking the shape of wild steeds on a rampage.

"Ahh!" the three mages cried out collectively, trampled mercilessly under the stampede. The walls of the room collapsed under the power of the herd, creating clouds of dust and debris.

"Guys!" Lucy yelled, before choking on the dirt hanging in the air.

"It's time to go Lucy, don't you think?" Aoi smiled innocently.

"L-Let go of me," the blonde stuttered, trying to pry her arm free only to have the grip tighten painfully. "I said 'Let go'!" she hollered, only for it to result in Aoi holding on to her so tightly that his nails broke her skin, leaving sickly trails of crimson to fall down her arm.

"That won't work on me anymore."

"W-What? What are you talking about?"

"You can't control me anymore. We're too close to Mt. Suh Cuihpo for you to do that," Aoi told her, her smile transforming back into its more wicked nature.

"I don't understand," Lucy whispered.

Aoi's eyes furrowed, before they relaxed and eased into a pleased face, "That's right. You've never understood. No one ever has. Even the others don't understand but don't worry; you don't need to understand anything. You just need to die."

"You first, asshole!" a voice shouted, alerting the pair to an ice lance hurtling their way. Aoi pulled to his left to dodge the attack, inadvertently placing Lucy straight in its path.

"Ahhh!" Lucy screamed as the cold, sharp projectile made contact. She could feel it pierce her skin as she tried to shift her body as best she could in an attempt to weaken the blow.

"Shit!" Gray swore when he saw what he had done. "Lucy, are you okay?" Gray asked, holding his ground as Erza dealt with Natsu. Apparently in the dragon-slayer's attempt to eat one of the flaming horses he wound up on top of one of the beasts.

"Fine," the blonde grunted from the floor where she fell.

A chilling laugh broke the air, drawing both of their attention back to the imp child.

"What a right bunch of fools you are. Oh, what fun Big Brother will have with you!" Aio cried happily, causing both mages to cringe at the deluded young mage.

'How did I not see this before?' Lucy asked herself. The signs that Aoi was off were mild at best but still there. However, something blinded her. Perhaps she was just a fool, a fool who had let herself and her friends fall into a trap.

* * *

"Natsu! Get up!" Erza commanded, her dark eyes scanning their surroundings. Aoi's attack had thrown them outside and much to the mage's chagrin, she discovered that they were outnumbered. Several people, Erza could only presume they were some of the villagers they had seen last night, crowded around them. They could not see it in the dark of the night but under the light of day, she could discern the clear, glazed over eyes that all the members of the group shared.

"Come at me, then!" she roared, brandishing her weapon against the soulless army. She held her own well enough for a time but the pressure placed on her by the mindless horde began to gnaw at her. After all, she did not want to cause any of these people serious injury. Her mind was plagued with the fearful notion that these people were under some sort of spell. She had seen a few similar incantations on previous missions and knew that despite the appearance of immunity to pain, they could feel every blow. Her growing weariness blinded her from an attack directed at her from her left. But fortunately, an explosion of fire stopped the oncoming attack.

"Need some help?" Natsu grinned cockily. Erza answered with a soft relieved smile, partially happy Natsu was back on his feet and confident with the knowledge that that with him by her side there was no foe too powerful. "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Natsu yelled, lighting up the battlefield in a mass of oranges, reds and yellows.

"Natsu, stop!" Erza cried after him, making him end his attack.

"What?" he bit back angrily.

"I think these people are under a spell. We can't hurt people who have no power over themselves."

"Damn it," Natsu spat, eyeing the looming crowd with a tad more apprehension than he had previously.

"We need to make a break for it," Erza said, earning her a disapproving look from Natsu. "Go get Lucy and Gray. I'll hold these guys off and we'll head to the woods."

"Tch," Natsu tsked but didn't argue. In a split second, he ran towards the ruins of the building they had been in to find his comrades.

* * *

"You mortals are such funny creatures, always crying, always hurting, always covered in red, at least you are when Big Brother is finished with you and it's such a lovely shade to. I say we paint the town with it, don't you agree?" Aoi giggled.

Gray glared back whilst placing pressure on the gaping wound on his left arm. His eyes darted to Lucy who seemed to be finally coming to. Aoi had deemed her struggling "annoying" and knocked her unconscious and none too kindly. Blood trickled down from her head until it marred her pale skin.

"Come on, let's play," Aoi smirked, his head tilting to the side in a psychotic manner.

Lucy could only hardly hear Aoi's request as she felt herself come to. Being a mage of Fairy Tail requires one to develop a quick recovery time, particularly to over the head injuries. Stifling a groan she rose to her feet, staggering a bit but regained her balance sneaking behind Aoi.

"Sure, I always wanted someone to play tag with as a kid," Lucy screamed, forcing herself to her feet and tackling Aoi from behind.

"Lucy!"

The pair grappled on the floor, pulling at each other and earning various nicks and scrapes by the debris.

"I'll fuckin' kill all of you!" Aoi screeched, throwing the blonde off of her.

"Over my dead body!" Natsu roared, flames engulfing his fists and licking at the wooden walls with a growing hunger and appetite. Upon seeing the state his comrades were in, the salmon haired boy quickly forgot his orders to retrieve his friends and escape to the woods.

"You insolent fool! That's the point!" Aoi grinned, spurring the dragon-slayer into action.

"Natsu!"

Natsu's step slowed to a halt and his eyes darted towards whoever called out his name. Gray was supporting a weak and battered Lucy and had nearly managed to make it out of the destroyed inn. He had apparently come to the same conclusion as Erza, they needed to fall back.

"YOU IDIOT! You've lit the whole house on fire! It's going to come down!"

Or maybe he just could discern the rapidly deteriorating structural integrity of the building they were standing in. Natsu and Aoi both looked up just in time to see a wooden beam crash to the floor, spitting out angry sparks when it hit the floor.

"Aaaaiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!" Aoi shrieked, falling out of the way of the burning log.

"Crap! Let's run!" Natsu said, turning on his heel to meet Lucy and Gray by the gaping hole.

"You're running too fast dipshit!" Gray hollered from behind him.

"Awww, can the poor baby ice sucker not keep up?" Natsu teased.

"No way flame brain, but I've kinda got some extra weight back here!" Gray retorted, prompting Natsu to turn around and see what Gray had meant. Lucy was trying her best to run alongside her raven haired companion but she couldn't keep up. Natsu noticed the numerous little trickles of blood that pooled around shoes and even left soft imprints on the ground behind her. It had to be painful. Without much thought, the dragonslayer doubled back and hoisted the blonde onto his back much to her surprise and Gray's.

"It'll be faster this way and it's not like my shoulders banged up like the pathetic excuse of a mage over there," Natsu grinned and pointed to Gray.

"Hey, watch it ash hole!"

Lucy just smiled softly and nuzzled into his shoulder. The mage's steps were hard and heavy but Lucy almost felt as if she was being gently rocked, her mind slowly delving into unconscious as Natsu's body heat provided her with all of the warmth she'd ever need.

* * *

"Natsu! Gray!" Erza breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them, but her nose crinkled when she realized Natsu was carrying Lucy. Summoning her strength to throw back her opponents, she ran to her friends. "What's wrong with Lucy?"

"Huh? Oh. I guess she fell asleep, but she's fine."

"So how are we getting out of here?" Gray asked, eyeing the daunting number of opponents in front of them and none seemed worse the wear despite taking a beating from Erza.

"We're doing this!" Erza said, grabbing both males wrist and sprinting in the opposite direction of the volatile masses.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gray and Natsu let loose feminine like screams as they were drug behind the scarlet mage, their feet flying freely in the air behind them.

* * *

Neither mage was quite sure when they hit the forest or for how long they had been hidden within the trees when Erza finally stopped, let lax her vice like grip, and turned to give them a victorious smile and thumbs up.

"She-She's a demon," the pair murmured in unison, sliding to their knees.

Natsu tensed when he felt the grip around his neck tighten but relaxed when he remembered he was carrying their blonde teammate. The dragon-slayer hadn't taken much note of how she had passed out earlier but now that he had the time to think he was concerned…and slightly amazed she had managed to keep hold of him after Erza's terrifying man grab.

"She's pretty roughed up but nothing a few bandages and rest won't fix," Gray commented, walking over to the pair. Natsu was just in the process of prying her from his shoulders but she didn't want to seem to budge.

"We'll stay here for the night," Erza announced, not taking much heed to the dragon-slayer's dilemma.

"I'll go off and scout around," Gray volunteered, stripping off his shirt not that anyone noticed with Lucy being unconscious.

Erza nodded in agreement, "Just be careful, these woods are enchanted."

"Ai."

Erza watched Gray's retreating figure before turning back to her only two remaining comrades only to find Natsu desperately trying to free himself from a sleeping Lucy's grasp. She chuckled earning a glare from Natsu. She smiled, coughing into her hand as a response.

"She seems comfortable and needs the rest, how about you let her sleep like that tonight?"

Natsu looked at her incredulously. "But how am I supposed to sleep?" he whined.

"Just lay down on your side and let her hold on to from the back."

"But I don't wanna go to sleep yet."

"Just do it, 'sides laying down doesn't mean you have to go to bed," Erza countered, an authoritative edge to her tone.

"Well what else can a person do while lying down?" Natsu grumbled and Erza chuckled.

"What?" an irritated voice shot back in the darkness.

"Nothing," Erza sighed and began to set up camp as Natsu's amber eyes followed her. After all what else could he do? Soon he began to grow weary of watching Titania go about camp and create a small fire pit. A yawn crept its way past his lips and within minutes he was asleep.

Gray came back just short of an hour later and smirked at the sight of the cuddled up celestial mage and dragon-slayer. While he was out scouting, he had found a stream and cleaned up his injury as well as brought some back in a large container he created out of ice. It wouldn't last long but hopefully til morning, if not he'd just go back and get some more. His grin fell when he caught sight of Erza huddled next to the fire. Her eyes poured into the flames and brows knitted together in contemplation.

"I brought back some water if you want to clean up."

"Thanks," Erza mumbled.

"So what do we do now?" Gray asked, informing the armor mage that he wanted more than monosyllabic answers to his queries.

Erza's eyes never left the fire when she answered him.

"We go back. This was obviously a trap and we need to warn Master and the Council."

"But what about the people?"

"They aren't people."

"What?!" Gray shot back shocked.

"They're corpses. Soulless drones."

"I donned my Purgatory Armor after you left. That armor is made to seek out the souls of my enemy's improving accuracy amongst other things and yet, my sword felt nothing. When trying to use its blasting capabilities, shots fired everywhere and rained down in a confused scattered mess. Those people aren't under a spell because there's no soul, no consciousness to bewitch in the first place."

"H-How can that be? I've never heard of a magic that can bring back the dead."

"Neither have I and…"

"And what?" Gray pressed after an awkward silence fell after her words.

"And you look tired, I'll take the first watch," Erza answered, a small smile on her lips.

Gray paused, wanting to press Erza further to coax the truth out of her but he was tired and trying to get Erza to do anything she didn't want to would be a great undertaking he didn't feel quite up to.

"Fine. Wake me up when you want to sleep," Gray said reluctantly, walking over to a spot near the fire. They had left all of their gear at the village. Lucy would have a fit when she got up. Gray smirked slightly at the thought of what was sure to be the blonde's over the top reaction.

"Ya know what? There's just one thing that bothers me," Gray mumbled turning to face Erza.

"What is it?"

"Aoi. He didn't chase after us when we escaped the building and we couldn't run very fast at first because of Lucy's injuries. That's why Natsu decided to carry her but he surely had enough time to catch up. …You don't think he wanted us to escape do you?"

"Get some sleep Gray," Erza answered softly pondering over her compatriot's question.

* * *

A gurgled sound choked its way throughout the empty caverns of rock, slowly becoming more defined and recognizable as a deranged form of laughter upon venturing further into the cliff. The hollow, wicked sound reverberated off the cave walls and filled the mountain with the noise of an evil rumbling that could deafen. Torches mounted on the walls cast ominous shadows as if hiding a great evil in the blackness. Only scratches and cracks decorating the cavern were illuminated, giving the impression the mountain itself was just as disturbed as the voice that consumed it. The cave stretched on, pausing to conjoin at a singular main junction before the pathway split; some routes delved further into the rock and others tunneled down, but only one spiraled up into the heart of the massive peak. Stairs began to form at the half length of hall, making it easier to ascend the mountain. Upon reaching the top, a landing had been formed which proceeded to lead into a large room. Despite the chamber's massive size, or perhaps because of it, the room appeared to be separated into twelve sections, designated through lines drawn across the floor to matching corners on the wall. In the middle of the space sat an oversized dodecagon, connecting the lines with foreign scribbles and writing. On the north face of the cavity, resting on elevated platforms, resided twelve glass capsules—two of which were occupied. The bodies stood motionless in their prisons, eyes shut from the world just as their physical beings had been trapped. Only the man laughing maniacally provided the room with any trace of life.

"Come soon my dear little Lucy. Mommy's waiting for you after all," the voice cackled with malicious mirth. Acidic olive eyes rolled back into the man's head as a noxious cackle rippled from his throat with such passion his head was flung backwards, threatening his balance. Long ebony tresses, snarled and ratted danced a sickly rhythm just above the floor, swaying erratically at each chuckle and shake of the head. Dirt shone out proudly against the man's ghastly pale skin and covered the tattered bit and pieces of the cloth that made him decent.

"Opic-Brother, I've just been informed the celestial mage and her comrades have arrived," a new voice interrupted, halting the crazed laughter. The clicking heels of centaur usually announced his presence long before he would need to announce it, but the man's laughter had prevented him from hearing the resounding clacks.

"What other reason for such mirth would I have if I was not already well aware of this fact?"

"Pardon my intrusion Brother. I meant no disrespect."

The olive eyed man waved a hand dismissively, earning a quiet albeit relieved sigh from the latter.

"It is of no large matter. Do not fret, Toliman. It is better to be warned twice than not at all. Besides, we are all family now and how could I be a proper elder brother if I let such a petty quarrel come between us."

"I am glad Brother sees it that way," Toliman answered, his back hoof stomping slightly on the firm ground, steadying his stance.

"What can I do for you?" the man asked, his voice sounding sour and sweet simultaneously.

"Um…," Toliman stammered, the nauseous, unsure feeling he occasionally felt when around his leader surfacing, "I was curious as to what you should have us do. Shall we fetch the girl? Charioteer seems to be having diff-"

"No. I have already devised a method that shall bring her to us of her own volition. There shall be no need for force so prematurely."

"Yes, Brother. If there is nothing more Brother wishes from me, I will take my leave."

"No, you may go Toliman."

"As you wish Brother," Toliman answered, granting the man with a quick bow before leaving. This time, his hoof beats could easily be heard leaving the room in the silence the followed his absence.

"Worthless imbeciles," the man muttered under his breath, staring vehemently at the exit Toliman had just taken. The man lingered there like that for a time, before he abruptly whipped around to face his two captives.

"With this I shall end it and then," the man paused, turning round to leave the chamber himself, "then, I will finally find my peace," Ophiuchus whispered, trudging down into the dark hallway, his figure soon consumed in blackness.

* * *

No apologizes here. This is honestly a terrible YEAR for me and I'm going to leave it at that. Updates will be few and far between most likely but I'll try. Thanks to all of my readers. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I didn't mean for it to take so long.

No question this round, just a big thank you to all of my supporters!


	12. Author's Note

Author's Note

I've got to leave for work in like five minutes so I'll keep this short and sweet. Yes, I'm still alive. And yes, I'll finish this story. My current beta is rather preoccupied with school as of late. She's in college now! I'm very proud of her and hope she continues to succeed like the smarty pants she is! Anyway, I now need a new Beta. So, if you're interested and have the time, leave a message. Just FYI though, I need a beta who will give commentary, corrections, revisions and the like. Suggestions and pointers are encouraged and potentially necessary. So please be willing to question me and correct me as well as offer your own opinion. Thanks!


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